Under The Surface
by wolflover777
Summary: Max is an orphan that goes to live with the Martinez family. Can Fang uncover her past and what lies "under the surface"? It sounds like Is This Really Home, but it's different. READ!: This story is only partially AH! One flock member has wings! Fax!
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Thanks to Demon Child Of Night 14, it has come to my attention that my story is awfully similar to theirs. I honestly did not realize this until she posted an AN about it, so I am changing my story some so that it doesn't resemble hers. I'm sorry for that, but in no way did I mean for our stories to be so similar, which is why I'm changing it. And, again, I'm sorry Demon Child Of Night 14. I promise that this story wasn't supposed to be so like yours, and I'm totally willing to change it. I feel horrible about it. I hope you guys enjoy my new version of the story! **

(Fang's POV)

"Guys, relax." I told the Martinez family. They were adopting a new family member today. The family consisted of Ella, Nudge, Angel, and Gazzy, as well as Dr. M. My brother, Iggy, and I were here to greet the new member. We lived a couple streets over, but all of us are like family.

"Yeah, so the new girl is a little rough and sarcastic. She'll warm up to you guys." Iggy said. "We've just got to give her some time."

"But her last foster home kept her for three years, and they were abusive! She's likely not to trust us for months at least!" Ella said worriedly. She looked like she was ready to bash her head against a wall. All of them did. It made sense that they were so stressed out.

The new girl, Maximum Ride, has only been to four foster homes in the eleven years she's been an orphan. But all of these were abusive, and they each kept her for at least a year. She was rough, distrustful, and sarcastic. It would take a lot of work for us to get through to her.

The doorbell rang and Dr. M rushed off to get it, almost crashing into a wall when she tripped over her own feet. I could hear her talking with someone else at the door, before she came back, leading Maximum into the room. Maximum was wearing blue jeans and a simple black T-shirt. Her hair was dirty blonde, her eyes the color of melted chocolate. They would've been beautiful if they weren't so hard and cold. They were the eyes of a girl that had seen things we could only see in our nightmares. "Everyone, this is Max. Max, this is Ella, Nudge, Angel, and Gazzy, your new siblings. And these are our friends, Fang and Iggy."

"Hey, Max. It's good to finally meet you." Iggy said with a smile, standing up and extending his hand for her to shake. She just glared at him until he put his hand back down. "Well, um…" Iggy tried to think of something else to say, but failed. Epically.

"I'm so glad you're finally here! Now we can go shopping, and to the movies, and the mall! I'm going to buy you the cutest looking outfits!" Nudge squealed. "This is going to be so exciting! I–" It was at this point that Iggy clamped his hand over her mouth.

"Sorry about that. Nudge is a chatterbox." he said, giving Max a grin. She didn't return it.

"Where's my room?" she asked.

"Um, right up here." Dr. M replied. She led Max up to her room. It was pretty cool. It was painted a dark green color, and there was a balcony. There were also some instruments in there, which Max seemed kind of surprised about. "The people at the orphanage told us that you were really into music." Dr. M said. "I hope this is okay with you."

Max gave Dr. M a confused and wary look. My guess was that she was trying hard to find some kind of evil in Dr. M's kind gestures. Even so, Max walked over to an acoustic guitar and picked it up, checking the strings and such. Her hands ran delicately over the guitar before she put it back down. It was at that moment that Total, Angel's little black Scottie, decided to run in, scaring Max so bad that she actually jumped, like, a foot in the air.

"Geez!" she yelled. When she saw it was Total, she rolled her eyes. Total stopped when he saw her, they stared at each other for a minute, and then he went into a barking frenzy.

"Total, no! Max is our new family member now! Stop it!" Angel demanded, grabbing hold of her dog and attempting to calm him down.

Max rolled her eyes again and walked up to them. "No." she said, calmly and firmly. Total stopped barking and cocked his head. He barked again. "No." she repeated, her tone becoming slightly harsher. Total was dead quiet. It was the weirdest thing I'd ever seen.

"How did you do that?" I asked, the first words to come out of my mouth so far.

Max shrugged. "A friend of mine once told me that you had to be calm and firm with a dog if you wanted them to listen to you." she replied stiffly.

"Well, um…are you hungry?" Iggy asked. "I make some pretty mean meals, if I do say so myself."

"Yeah, he's almost as good as Mom." Gazzy agreed.

Max just shrugged and followed us down to the kitchen. It turns out, she eats a lot. Of course, I didn't tell her that. You don't tell _any_ girl that, but she had two servings of food, while the rest of us only had one. But it didn't seem to bother her though. Like she was used to it.

After lunch, she went back upstairs to her room, and locked herself in there for the rest of the day. But, whenever we walked by, we could hear her on the guitar or keyboard. And, if we listened closely, we could hear her singing. Let's just put it this way, she has an _amazing _voice.

(Max's POV)

This family was different from the others. They actually acted somewhat civilized. I couldn't let my guard down though. I've been tricked by the nice guy act once and never fell for it again. I'm not starting now.

Dr. M opened my bedroom door. "Max?" she called. I looked up from the song I was writing and raised an eyebrow at her, not even bothering to hide my annoyance. "I was wondering if you'd like to go to the mall with us tomorrow." she said.

I grimaced. "I'm not a big fan of the mall." _Or crowds_, I silently added to myself.

"Well, Nudge and Angel won't like that, but I was actually asking because we need to go clothes shopping for you."

I sighed. "Whatever." I mumbled, going back to my song. I heard Dr. M close the door. Why do I feel bad doing this to her? It's how I treated all the others, and I never felt bad about it. Stupid heart. This is why I hate emotions. They're just too complicated.

Suddenly, my right wing cramped up. My back arched and I hissed. I got up and locked the door, then carefully extended my wings. I shook them out to work out the kinks. That's right, I have wings. My "father", Jeb Batchedler, was a scientist. He gave me the wings when I was still in the womb. My mom was just as bad. I remember the experiments that they used to perform on me. Horrible, torturous, unspeakable experiments that still haunt me to this day. Then, our dysfunctional family fell apart. Jeb got arrested and sentenced to death row. He was executed by the electric chair last year. They actually had the gall to invite me to see his execution. Mom's gone. And I went to an orphanage. Which would've been a relief if it wasn't for the fact that I was sent to abusive families. At least it's better than what would've happened if I hadn't hid my wings all these years. I probably would've been sent to work in some zoo or circus.

I looked at the balcony longingly. I wish I could just jump off of it and spread my wings as far as I could. Nothing compares to the feeling of soaring through the air. Someone knocked on my door and I jumped. I folded my wings in and quickly grabbed my jacket, which I'd thrown on the bed when I came back in from lunch, to cover them.

I yanked open the door and went to glare at whoever was behind it only to find no one there. I looked down and saw Angel standing in the hall. I blinked a couple times in surprise, then frowned. "What?" I asked flatly. Again, I felt bad when she flinched at my tone.

"Um…we were going to the movies. Mom said she wanted you to go. She doesn't want to leave you home alone, just in case something happens." she said.

I sighed in frustration. I don't like crowds. And movie theaters were almost always crowded. "Fine." I mumbled, slipping my tennis shoes back on and following Angel downstairs. I found that the others were already ready to go and I followed Dr. M and her family to their van. I got in the back, next to Iggy, and stared out the window. My claustrophobia, unfortunately, included cars. But, hey, you'd be claustrophobic too if the first five years of your life were spent in a cage.

We got to the movie theaters and bought tickets for Ironman 2. As we sat down, I could already feel my skin tingling and my breathing quicken. Nothing that the others would be able to notice. My eyes darted to the exits, and warily watched anyone who walked by me. Like I suspected, every seat in the freaking theater was filled.

The lights shut off and my breathing spiked up again. I closed my eyes and flashes of old memories danced behind my eyes. _I remembered being locked in my cage in a dark room._ The screen lit up, but I kept my eyes closed. _I screamed as the Whitecoats experimented on me, the single bright light shining right in my eyes._ The loud music started, killing my ears, which were much better than a humans. _I screamed as an explosion went off just a meager twenty feet from me, flying through the air and crashing into the ground, pain shooting up through my entire body._

"Max, are you alright?" a voice asked beside me. I pried my eyes open to find Fang staring at me worriedly. I stood up. "I'll be right back." I murmured, walking quickly out of the theater. There was a bench right outside, so I didn't have to go out and have to worry about showing the idiots that worked here my ticket again. I sat down and put my head in between my legs, my hands on the back of my head, and I took deep breaths. Just like Officer Wayne taught me when I had a panic attack like that.

"Max!" I heard someone exclaim next to me. I jumped and looked up to see Fang. He'd just been coming out the door when he saw me, so he was half in, half out. He moved towards me, reaching out to touch me, then thinking better of it and pulling back. Good move on his part. He sat down next to me instead. "What happened back there?" he asked.

I just shrugged. I didn't let people know my weaknesses. It just gave them an advantage over me. "Do you want to go back inside?" he asked, surprisingly gentle. I was careful to keep my face blank as I shook my head. I could see much better than any human could in the dark. Most humans know that the others are there, but they can't see them clearly because of how dark it is. I can, so I _know_ I'm constantly surrounded by people.

"Do you want to go outside?" he asked. I looked down the hall, which so happened to be in front of us. There was a huge crowd of people waiting for their movies to get started. I shuddered slightly and shook my head. Recognition dawned in his eyes.

"You're claustrophobic, aren't you?" he asked. I glared at him, which seemed to be enough of an answer. "Why didn't you tell anybody?"

I shrugged, looking at the ground so that my hair curtained my face. "When you've lived like I have, you learn not to let people know your weaknesses. Especially people you don't trust." I replied.

He stared at me for a couple seconds before saying. "I'm really curious about what's happened to you."

"Why? Because I'm a distrusting freak?" I asked, rolling my eyes at him.

"No. Because I'm wondering what could make someone so strong break so badly." he replied.

I felt my eyes widen slightly before I looked away, glaring at the floor. How is it that this complete stranger could read me so well? Why does he know more about me than my own parents did? And why does it seem like I can read him better than anyone else can?

I tried to figure this out. I had to force Fang to go back inside and watch the rest of the movie. I sat out for the rest of the movie. IT was a couple hours before we finally went back home.

**AN: Alright guys, that's the new story. Demon Child Of Night 14, if you still think this is to similar to your story, please tell me what part is, so I can change it. I really have a different plot line from you story, and different ideas, but I still don't want you to think that I'm trying to steal anything from you. I'm very willing to change anything you think is too much like your story, or anything you think belongs to you. I really am sorry about all this, and I really didn't realize how close both of our stories were until you posted that AN. I didn't mean to copy your work, and I really want you to continue your story for two reasons. 1: You are an amazing author. 2: It is a great story and you've had me hooked on it from the first paragraph I read. So I'm totally willing to work with you, you just have to tell me what's wrong. Just send me a message on anything you think I should change. Thank you very much, and I'm sooooo sorry.**

**Wolflover777**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Sorry for the long update. My family from Colorado is in. And, you know, school. But we only have a few more things left. TGIS! (Thank God It's Summer! For those of you who didn't know that.) So, here's the chapter, I don't own MR, and review!**

(Max's POV)

I grimaced as the sun woke me up. "Sun, sun, go away. Bug me again another day." I mumbled-sang before getting up.

"Max?" a voice asked behind me. I stiffened and spun around, immediately getting into a fighting position. I only relaxed slightly when I saw it was Angel, but I did move to stand like a normal person. Little kids weren't a threat.

"What do _you_ want?" I snarled, feeling slightly guilty when she flinched.

"Um, Mom told me to come and get you, so we can take you to the mall." she said.

"Whatever." I grumbled. I grabbed a dark green shirt and black ripped jeans. They weren't supposed to be ripped, but I thought they looked cooler that way. I also grabbed a black, ripped up hat of mine. This one was actually bought with the rips. I was about to get changed when I noticed Angel was still in the room, watching me. I scowled. "What?" I asked flatly.

Angel tilted her head slightly to the side. "Why don't you like us?" she asked. "We didn't do anything to you."

"It's not just you. It's everybody. I'm a very distrusting person. When you've had a life like mine, you have to be. Any other questions?" I said, not even attempting to keep the annoyance out of my voice.

"Will you ever trust us?"

"Probably not." I gave her a _now leave_ look before turning back to my clothes. I heard my door shut as I started changing and went downstairs. To join the hell trip to the mall.

(Fang's POV)

Max came downstairs, and you could tell that she didn't want to be anywhere near us. She probably wanted to be up in her room, strumming on her guitar or something. Max swiped some food off of Iggy's plate before moving over to the stove and dishing out a plate for herself. Again, she ate a whole lot more than the rest of us did.

If you're wondering why me and Iggy are here, it's simply because we were bored, and I thought it would be interesting to see what Max would do on a shopping trip with Nudge, Angel, and Ella.

As we walked out to Dr. M's car, Max asked something that shocked me. "Can I drive?"

We all looked at her. "You can drive?" I asked, surprised. I mean, I could too, it's just that I didn't think that driver's ed would be something her old foster family would let her do.

She glared at me. "Of course. Unlike some people, I'm not brain dead." she replied flatly.

I turned to Iggy, who was standing right beside me. "She's right, you know. You are brain dead." I said, smirking. Max seemed a little surprised by this, though I'm not sure why. She just shook her head and repeated the question to Dr. M, while I ignored Igs protest of "Hey!" for the insult.

Dr. M agreed, if a little reluctantly. We all hopped into her van, with Max in the front seat. I thought Max would have a lot of road rage, but she was actually a very cool-headed driver. She was a good driver too. Well, what do you know?

Max pulled into the mall parking lot and grimaced when she saw how big it was. She parked and Angel, Nudge, and Ella were gushing about how fun this was going to be. They took Max into a store and picked a bunch of clothes for her. Max grimaced as they chose a lot of pink crap. She rolled her eyes and walked out of the store. None of the others seemed to notice, but I followed her. Instead of running, like I thought she would, she walked into Pac Sun **(sp?)**.

I jogged back over to the other store. Aeropostale. "Guys, she went into Pac Sun." I told them. "I don't think she liked all the pink crap." I added.

Nudge frowned. "Well, let's go see what she's getting!" she said. "For all we know, that girl could have no fashion sense!"

We all ran over to her. There was some guy talking to her there, a flirty smile on his face. Max wasn't even giving him the time of day, which made me want to laugh. But that would be showing emotion. Then the guy wrapped his arm around her waist and I saw her stiffen, her whole body tensing so hard, I'm shocked she wasn't trembling.

Max looked at him with the scariest death glare I've ever seen. We'd come up to her at this point, so we could hear what she said to him. "You've got three seconds to let go of me." she said, deathly quiet. She didn't even look at the guy, just kept looking at the shirts in front of her. "And if you don't, your future dreams of having kids are going right out the window."

"Aw, come on, baby, I–"

"One." Max cut him off.

The guy scowled. "I'm not two years old. And I think that I–"

"Two." Max interrupted again. The guy was fuming. He shoved her into a the wall next to them, her head smacking on it.

"And I think that I should be able to touch my girl anyway I want." the jerk said with a triumphant smirk.

I was about to go box him in the face, and I could tell the other words too, but then Max said, in that same quiet tone, "Three." I thought _he'd_ been fuming? Max looked freaking _murderous_. Her knee went up and kneed him right in his…sensitive area and Iggy and I both winced. But before the guy fell to the ground, she punched him in the face, and kicked him in the chest, making him fly at least a foot back.

He just lay on the floor, moaning, on hand clutching his…area while to other went to his bleeding nose, his breath coming in gasps. Max crouched down beside him, that cold, murderous look still in her eyes. "You don't get it. I know a hundred different ways to kill you with my _bare hands_. I know thousands of different ways to break you both physically and mentally. And I've handled thngs before that you couldn't even come up with in your wildest, most terrifying nightmares. _Don't. Try. Me. You. Sexist. Pig._" she ground out.

The guy looked up at her in pure terror. He got up and, ignoring his injuries, took off out of the store. Max rolled her eyes. "Wuss." she muttered.

Iggy stared at her. "Did you not see what you just did? I'd be terrified too!" he said, looking in the direction the guy had run off in.

"You're an idiot." Max replied. "You'd probably run away from your own shadow."

"Hey! Come on, you can't really think that about me!"

"Cry baby." Max replied. "Besides, do you _really_ want to know what I think about you?"

Iggy was quiet for a moment. "No."

She nodded. "I thought so." She walked over to the cashier with some clothes in her hands. She paid for it herself, which made me wonder where she got the money from. Max walked back over to us, just rolling her eyes when me and Iggy offered to take her bags.

When we got back to the house, Max immediately went back upstairs. We all followed her, but a few steps back. Didn't want to crowd her with her claustrophobia and everything. We stopped outside her door. She just let the bags fall to the floor and grabbed an acoustic guitar, sitting down on the bed and grabbing a notebook. She scowled, wrote a few things in it, then let the barest trace of a smile grace her lips.

Then she started to play and sing, the smile falling.

_Have you ever felt like breaking down?_

_Do you ever feel out of place?_

_Like somehow you just don't belong_

_And no one understands you?_

_Do you ever wanna run away?_

_Do you lock yourself in your room?_

_With the radio on, turned up so loud_

_That no one hears you screaming?_

_No you don't know what it's like_

_When nothing feels alright._

_You don't know what it's like_

_To be like me._

She started singing louder as she got to the chorus.

_To be hurt._

_To feel lost._

_To be left out in the dark._

_To be kicked_

_When you're down._

_To feel like you've been pushed around._

_To be on the edge of breaking down_

_And no one's there to save you._

_No, you don't know what it's like._

Her voice got a little quieter as she said the last line.

_Welcome to my life._

It stayed quiet as she sang the next verse.

_Do you wanna be somebody else?_

_Are you sick of feeling so left out?_

_Are you desperate to find something more_

_Before your life is over?_

_Are you stuck inside a world you hate?_

_Are you sick of everyone around?_

_With their big fake smiles and stupid lies_

_While deep inside your bleeding._

_No you don't know what it's like_

_When nothing feels alright._

_You don't know what it's like_

_To be like me._

_To be hurt._

_To feel lost._

_To be left out in the dark._

_To be kicked_

_When you're down._

_To feel like you've been pushed around._

_To be on the edge of breaking down_

_And no one's there to save you._

_No, you don't know what it's like._

Her voice got a little softer again.

_Welcome to my life._

She played again for a second before she picked up the pace and her voice got louder again.

_No one's ever lied straight to your face._

_And no one's ever stabbed you in the back._

_You might think I'm happy,_

_But I'm not gonna be okay!_

_Everybody always gave you what you wanted_

_You never had to work_

_It was always there._

_You don't know what it's like_

_What it's like!_

Her voice got soft again and she strummed softly on her guitar.

_To be hurt._

_To feel lost._

_To be left out in the dark._

_To be kicked_

_When you're down_

_To feel like you've been pushed around._

She kicked up the gear and started singing faster and louder again.

_To be on the edge of breaking down_

_And no one's there to save you._

_No you don't know what it's like (what it's like.)_

_To be hurt._

_To be lost._

_To be left out in the dark._

_To be kicked_

_When you're down._

_To feel like you've been pushed around._

_To be on the edge of breaking down_

_With no one there to save you._

_No you don't know what it's like._

_Welcome to my life._

It got soft again.

_Welcome to my life._

_Welcome to my life._

_Welcome to my life._

"Wow. You're good." I said. "That was a little depressing, but good."

Max jumped and spun around, falling off the bed in the process.

"Whoops." I said.

"What are you doing?" she growled, but I could tell she was blushing.

"Well, we followed you. You just didn't know we were here." Iggy said.

If looks could kill, we'd be planning Iggy's funeral right now. "Get out of here." she muttered.

"You really do have a beautiful voice, Max." Dr. M said. "You shouldn't hide a talent like that."

Max shrugged. "I don't."

"What do you mean?" Nudge asked.

"I sing at the place where I work sometimes. We all do actually, me and the other staff members." she replied.

"Where do you work?" Ella asked.

Max checked the clock. It was almost eight thirty. Wow. Had we really spent that much time shopping? Max put the guitar on the stand. "I'll show you." she said. She went out to the car and got into the driver seat. We got in after her and she drove off.

(Max's POV)

I pulled into the parking lot of the club and walked into the building. I heard the others follow me before the familiar sound of blasting music and teen bands playing covered up everything else. My wings were starting to cramp up a little bit. But I rolled my shoulders and forgot about it. I looked over and saw Sue. I felt myself grin.

Sue saw me and grinned herself before coming over to hug me. "You should smile like that more often." she said. "You have such a beautiful smile." She was a nice, little old lady. She was like the grandma I never had. All of the employees here were like family to me. The only family I'd ever known.

I gave a bitter chuckle. "I only smile when I have a reason to." I replied bitterly before going to change.

(Fang's POV)

"So, who are you guys?" the old lady asked.

"Well, Iggy and I are just friends, but they're her new family." At the lady's wary look, I added, "Relax. They aren't abusive."

She looked relieved. "Good. Max needs someone to help fix her. She doesn't smile like that unless we haven't seen each other for a while, which is usually only when she switches homes." she said.

"Well, Sue, even if you fix someone, you can still see the cracks." Max said from behind her.

Sue jumped and held a hand to her heart. "Don't do that, Max. You'll give me a heart attack."

"Sorry." Max said before moving over to lean against the wall by the door. As she moved, I saw the back of her new black T-shirt said security guard.

"Max is the security guard here?" I asked.

"She can't be the security guard. She's a _girl_." Iggy said.

"Excuse me?" Nudge demanded. "Girls can do anything a guy can do. Like run the mile, or beat someone up, or play baseball, or football–"

"Nudge!" we all yelled, while Sue gave her a surprised look.

"Sorry." she said, smiling sheepishly. But then she got serious. "But seriously, girls can do anything guys can do."

"Quite the chatter box we have her, huh?" Sue said, smiling. "Can I get any of you anything to drink? This is a teen club, so we don't have any alcohol. And, yes, Max is our security guard. She's the best one we've ever had. She's the strongest person I've ever met, that's for sure."

We all asked for something, but then we heard Max's voice. "Hey, you can't come in here." We all turned to see a guy who looked to be in his late twenties. Max was standing in front of him, only having to slightly look up at him.

"And why not?" the dude slurred, obviously drunk.

"Because, one, this is a teen club. Tow, there's no alcohol, which also means no alcoholics." Max replied. "Now I'm going to have to ask you to leave, or I'm going to escort you out."

"I'm not leaving!" the guy bellowed. The music did one of those screeching things and everyone stopped to look at the dude. A lot of people grinned, watching Max. "That dude is _so_ going down." I heard one of the waitresses say, grinning.

"Too bad. I'm sorry, but if I even let you touch one of these people, I'd have to call the police and report a pedophile." Max said. She gave the guy a small shove towards the door. "Now get out of here."

"No!" he yelled, and tried to take a swing at her. She easily caught his arm and pulled him forward, her knee coming up and connecting with his stomach. The breath left him with a _whoosh!_ and he hit the ground. Max grabbed the back of his shirt and hoisted him up. She pushed open the door and literally threw the guy out.

She noticed all of the others looking at her. The guy stood up and pounded on the door in a drunken rage. Max braced herself against the push-in door so he couldn't open it, her face grim. "Sue, call the police. We got a live one." she said. "Hopefully he'll have worn himself out by the time they get here.

"_This_ is what you do all the time?" Dr. M asked worriedly.

Max rolled her eyes. "Not _all_ the time. Just sometimes."

"Careful. You don't want to make this place sound bad or she might make you quit." Sue said as she picked up the phone.

Max rolled her eyes. "You know no one can ever _make_ me do anything." she replied. "I don't take orders."

"Yeah, she only gives them." a guy said.

"Shut up, Roger." she said, rolling her eyes and smiling slightly.

"Whatever, sis." he said.

"Sis?" I asked.

He looked at me. "Yeah. All of us here are like a family. Max and me are like brother and sister." he explained before walking over and helping her brace the door. Eventually the cops came and got the guy. They talked to Max for awhile, and seemed to know her.

They eventually had to close down, but the employees didn't leave. Instead, they decided to throw a show. In honor of us, when Max admitted that we haven't abused her yet. They all thought we seemed pretty cool, even though Max didn't seem to agree. But she seemed to like the idea of playing with the other employees.

**AN: Alright, I don't know how good this chapter is, so I need you to tell me if it was or not. So review! Thanks for reading. And again, I'm **_**so so soooooooo**_** sorry about the late update. I'll try to update more. Promise.**


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Hello peoples! What's up? I'm back with an update! Here's the next chapter. Oh, and I don't own MR, or any of the songs used in this story unless said otherwise. Like, if I make up my own song. **

(Fang's POV)

Max and another girl, plus Roger and some other guy walked up to the stage. Max and Roger grabbed electric guitars. The other guy grabbed a bass, and the girl went to the drums. "This first song is Animal I Have Become, written and sung by our very own Maximum Ride." Roger said into his microphone.

Max nodded her head before the guy on the bass started playing. In this light, I could see that on her arms, which were always hidden before, she had a lot of scars. And I mean, _a lot_ of scars. "Look at her arms." I heard Iggy whisper behind me, and then I heard a lot of silent gasps. I turned to see the others looking at Max with sad eyes. As she started playing, she looked at us, then quickly looked away. Then Roger came in and after a little more playing, she started to sing. She started off in a normal tone of voice.

_I can't escape this hell._

_So many times I've tried._

_But I'm still caged inside._

Then she got a little louder. It was painful to listen to. Not because she was bad, but because she sang it with some much feeling, you know this song came from the heart. I can't even imagine what she was feeling when she wrote it. The song in itself sounded like it was written in pain and anger.

_Somebody get me through this nightmare._

_I can't control myself._

_So what if you can see_

_The darkest side of me?_

_No one will ever change _

_This animal I have become._

_Help me believe_

_It's not the real me._

_Somebody help me tame _

_This animal. _

_(This animal. This animal.) _Everyone except for Max sang that part. The she started again, going back to the normal tone.

_I can't escape myself. _

_(I can't escape myself.) _Roger did the repeats.

_So many times I've lied. _

_(So many times I've lied.)_

_But there's still rage inside._

She got louder and more angry again. It almost sounded like a song reflecting her anger and pain, but, at the same time, it was a song begging somebody for help. To save her from not just the people who were abusing her, but from herself. From what she thinks becoming, a cold stranger that had no feeling, no heart. An "animal" so to speak.

_Somebody get me through this nightmare._

_I can't control myself._

_So what if you can see_

_The darkest side of me?_

_No one will ever change_

_This animal I have become._

_Help me believe_

_It's not the real me._

_Somebody help me tame_

_This animal I have become._

_Help me believe_

_It's not the real me._

_Somebody help me tame_

_This animal._

_Somebody help me through this nightmare._

_I can't control myself._

_Somebody wake me from this nightmare._

_I can't escape this hell._

Max held out this note and everyone else stopped playing, except for the girl on the drum. Then the rest of the band repeated "This animal." over and over again. Seven times, I think? Then everything stopped except for Max's sing and playing.

_So what if you can see_

_The darkest side of me?_

_No one will ever change_

_This animal I have become._

Everyone else joined in.

_Help me believe_

_It's not the real me._

_Somebody help me tame _

_This animal I have become._

_Help me believe_

_It's not the real me._

_Somebody help me tame_

_This animal._

_(This animal I have become.)_

Max ended it with this sort of solo thing. The others kept playing, but you could hear her instrument above theirs. When they all finally stopped everyone else started clapping, including us. It was an amazing song. But was I the only one that noticed Max's pained expression when she saw it. It was just slightly different, but, if you looked closely, you could see her clenched jaw and the pain that was buried deep in her eyes.

Her and Roger shared a look, deciding if they should do another song. "How about we have someone else come up and sing? Karaoke night!" Roger yelled excitedly. He and the two others stayed on the stage to play the songs, but Max jumped off and went to stand in another corner of the room, away from the crowd.

I walked over to stand next to her. "Crowd getting to you?" I asked. Max just gave me a _get the hell away from me_ glare. "That was an interesting song. You wrote it?"

She nodded. "Last year, I think. I'm not sure."

I nodded. "It was good." She glared at me again, but I just stayed where I was. Max seemed to allow that as long as I didn't talk to her. We stood in silence, watching the other staff members sing. It wasn't an awkward silence, but it sure as hell was comfortable either. "So, how long have you worked here?" I asked.

"Since I was eight. I used to help clean the dishes. Then I got promoted to bodyguard after I threw out some drunken idiot." she said, disgust clear in her voice. Note to self: Keep Max away from drunk people. She might rip them limb from limb.

"So, you've known these people for awhile. Do you trust them?" I asked.

Max's wary look was almost enough of an answer for me. "Only Sue and Roger." she mumbled, her eyes carefully watching the crowd. But when I followed her gaze, I saw she was watching Angel and Gaz. Then, somebody bumped into them and they went flying into someone else.

"What the hell?" the person growled, surprised and ticked off at the same time. Before I could even blink, Max was off the wall and walking over to them. Roger saw her. The song they'd been playing had stopped, but he didn't start another when the girl up there gave him the cue. He was watching Max.

"Watch where you're going!" the guy yelled at Angel and Gazzy. I started walking towards them, scowling. Max stopped behind Angel and Gaz and the idiots eyes flew to her. She was glaring at him. I stood beside her, also glaring. The guy gulped and walked to the other side of the room. Max just calmly placed her hands on the kids' shoulders and guided them over to the bar.

She motioned for me to sit them on the bar stools. She walked around and mixed a bunch of sodas together before handing two of the concoctions to Angel and Gaz. At their wary looks, she just said, "Drink up. It's good." before walking away. Gazzy and Angel shared a look before sipping carefully from their glasses. They grinned. "Wow! This is really good!" Angel said.

"Yeah! You've got to try this, Fang!" Gazzy said, holding his cup out to me. I took a sip from it and felt my eyes widen as the taste exploded in my mouth. It really was good. "I wonder what she put in it." I mused, looking across the room to Max. She was leaning up against the wall, watching the girl on stage. But when she felt my eyes on her, she looked back at me. I smiled and held up the glass, indicating that the drink was good. She nodded, and I could've sworn I saw a flash of a smile before she looked back to the stage.

Eventually, the shop closed down for everybody and Max hopped back into the car. She turned the car on and started driving down the road. "Oh, yeah, I almost forgot. Max, what did you put in that drink?" I asked her.

The corner of her mouth turned up in the barest hint of a smile and she looked at me briefly in the rear view mirror before her eyes went back to the road. "That's my own personal secret." she replied. "I haven't told anybody, and I'm not going to start." Suddenly she shook her head sharply.

"Are you okay, Max?" Dr. M asked worriedly.

Max nodded. "Tired." she mumbled, keeping her eyes on the road.

"I can drive if you–"

"I'm fine." Max said stubbornly, cutting her off. She turned down an exit, taking the turn a little too quickly. But, she got us home alive, and that's the important thing. When she parked in the driveway, she immediately hopped out.

"Wait, Max." I said, quietly enough for only her to hear. She stopped and looked at me expectantly. "Where did these scars come from?" I asked her worriedly, gesturing to her arms. She looked down and her eyes went distant, filled with pain, sorrow, and anger.

"Doesn't matter." she grunted, turning and going inside.

I sighed. "Why won't you just give us a chance?" I asked her.

She froze. Then she looked back at me from over her shoulder. "I've been done with giving people chances since I was four years old." she said, her eyes full of annoyance.

"But…I thought you entered the foster program when you were five." Nudge said from beside me. All of them had overheard her last statement.

"I did." Max replied. Her eyes went distant again for a split second before she shook her head and walked back inside the house. Great. So that means her parents probably abused her too, or screwed up somehow. Has she ever gotten a break?

(Max's POV)

My wings cramped up again as I walked back into my room. I knew that I couldn't put it off any longer. I had to fly. Tonight. If I didn't, my wings would cramp up badly. And it would be hard to fly, which means that there's a good chance of crashing.

I opened the glass door and stepped out onto the balcony. From there, I climbed up to the roof and did a running take off. I spread my wings out and it felt _so good_. I hated that I had to be so careful. If I had it my way, I'd fly every night. The wind in your face, the adrenaline rush, the freedom, and just knowing that something others only wish they can do comes as naturally to you as breathing. My wings moved up and down in the familiar pattern.

My eyes darkened as I remembered Fang asking about my scars. Some had come from the foster homes. Like the family whose dad kicked me through the wooden door. Big splinters and shards of wood had buried themselves in my back and arms. Or there was that time that the same foster family threw me down the stairs. But a lot of them were from the School. I remember this one particular experiment. It was when they made several long, deep, painful incisions in me. They wanted to see how much pain I could take. They figured out it was a lot.

I shook my head sharply and moved to land. I circled down easily and landed lightly. I was in a clearing with this big lake. It even had a small waterfall. It kind of looked like a small paradise. _I should come back here sometime_, I thought absentmindedly. I bent down and splashed my face with water, trying to get myself up. I couldn't fall asleep out here. They might wake up before I do and see that I'm gone. They won't be happy. They might finally break their _No Beating Max_ rule. I wouldn't be surprised. It wouldn't be the first time.

I shook my head again. I found myself thinking a lot about my old families these days. Even about my mom and dad. They are memories that I would much rather just forget.

I just sat by the lake for a while, letting my mind wander to anything. Anything but the stupid families I had before.

_Maybe you should trust this family,_ the Voice told me. Yeah, so I have a voice in my head. Don't you? _They're different. They're only here to help you, Max._

_Yeah right,_ I grumbled. _Nobody wants to help me. They never have and they never will. People just don't care._

_You don't never know, Max. You really should give them a chance._

_Just go away, Voice._ To my surprise, it actually did go away. I took off from the clearing, easily finding my way back to the house. I had this sort of navigation system in my head. I was never really lost. And I could always find a place I've been to easily. I also always know which direction I'm heading in. It was actually pretty cool.

I landed easily on the roof and climbed back down to the balcony. I didn't want Nudge to look out her window just to see that her new foster sister wasn't home because she was a mutant bird-kid with wings. Yeah, I bet that conversation would go over well.

I silently slide open the glass door and crawled into bed, falling into a fitful, nightmare-filled sleep. I don't even know when the last time I got a good night's sleep. Probably sometime after I left the School, before my first family. Then again, I _had_ just gotten out of the School so maybe not. Hmm…

**AN: Alright guys, review! I really want to know what you guys think. Don't hold back if you find something that you think can be improved.**


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: Yello peoples! I'm back and ready for business! Whoo! **

**Here's the chapter. R&R! I don't own MR, which makes me do this: :(**

(Max's POV)

Dr. M took me into another room, separate from the others. I didn't have a good feeling about this. Was she going to yell at me? Hit me? What did I do wrong? She motioned for me to sit in the chair across from her. We were in her office. I did, shifting around nervously.

"Max, can I ask you some questions?" Dr. M asked kindly.

Despite her kind voice, I was immediately on guard. "Depends on the question." I said, looking at her suspiciously.

Dr. M took a deep breath. "Alright, how many foster homes have you been too?" she asked.

I shrugged. "Four, I think."

She nodded. "Were they all…abusive?"

I nodded. "Yeah."

She sighed. "What about your birth parents? Were they abusive?"

My jaw clenched and I closed my eyes as memories danced behind my eyelids, taunting me. Being the mutant freak I am, I can remember things from a much earlier time than normal humans. Some memories go back to when I was only a year old. "I'd call it more than abuse. Torture is more the word." I replied coldly, opening my eyes and desperately trying to block out all of the memories.

"Has anyone ever…sexually touched you, with or without your consent?" Dr. M asked. My comment about my parents seemed to throw her off a bit.

"No. If they did, I would've beaten the living hell out of them."

"How many scars do you have?" she asked.

"Too many to count."

"Any open wounds?"

"Yes."

"Can I look at them? I don't want them to get infected." She had already started moving towards me. I jumped up and moved back.

"No." I said firmly. "I've been through it before. I know what to do." She flinched slightly at my cold tone.

She seemed to hesitate on her next question, and I knew this one was going to hurt. "What happened to your parents? How did you get into foster care?" she asked gently, as if that would help with the fact that her little questions were cutting deeper than she would ever think possible. The memories forced themselves to the front of my mind, becoming more vivid. I closed my eyes, trying to fight them, but they kept coming. I snapped my eyes open, pain, anger, and hatred making me shake.

"We're done." I said, walking out of the room and slamming the door shut behind me. She went too far. Yeah, I've been here a week. So what? That doesn't mean I'm going to open up and pour my heart out to them. That doesn't mean that they won't start beating me any day now. One of the other homes went a month before they started beating me. I walked into my own room and slammed it shut.

I grabbed my guitar and started strumming on it, but I couldn't focus. Old memories still haunted me. I growled and stood up, writing a note to tell the others that I went out and that I would be back soon. Then I stepped out onto the balcony, climbed onto the roof, and took off.

(Fang's POV)

Dr. M was worried today. She told us about some of the questions that she'd asked Max. I didn't blame her, but even I knew she'd gone too far with the last one. Asking her that might've pushed her even farther away. I hoped it didn't. She needed a lot of time before she'd open up to us. After all, she had a hard life, and I'm sure there's not too many people that she's ever been able to trust.

Dr. M asked me to go upstairs to get her for dinner. I opened her door, but found her room empty. She wasn't out on her balcony either. Worried, I was about to go tell Dr. M when I saw a note on her dresser.

_ Don't freak out. I just went out for a while. I'll be back later._

_ -Max_

I took the note downstairs and showed it to Dr. M. "She's probably just trying to clear her head." I told them as she, Nudge, Ella, Gazzy, and Angel all started to worry. "I'm sure she'll be fine."

Iggy and I decided to spend the night with them. We were going to just stay long enough to wait for Max, but, wherever she went, she was spending quite a while there. I was really starting to get worried.

It was probably an hour later when Max opened the door. It had started pouring two hours ago, and she was soaked from head to toe. "Where did you go?" Dr. M asked. "We were worried."

Max shrugged. "I told you I was going out." she replied. "I'm going to go change."

"Make sure you come back downstairs. We're watching a movie together!" Angel said excitedly.

Max turned around, her eyes cold, and studied Angel for a minute. Angel shifted under her cold stare. Max then turned and went upstairs. I didn't suspect her to come back down, but she surprised me. She came back downstairs. She didn't sit with us thought. In fact, she stood leaning against the opposite wall for the whole movie, but she came downstairs. That had to be improvement…right?

…_the next day…._

It was Max's first day of school. She had all of her classes with me, so that she knew someone in all of them. As we walked in, she started to get nervous, her claustrophobia kicking in.

"You okay?" I asked.

"You speak in complete sentences?" she replied, not missing a beat, and rolled her eyes. I raised an eyebrow at her, but didn't say anything in return. We walked into homeroom. I sat down and motioned for Max to sit down beside me. She looked like she'd rather throw herself off a cliff, but she did anyways. And that's when trouble came up.

"Hey, Fang." Lissa said, coming up to me and sitting on my desk. I nodded to her. "So, who's this?" She glared at Max, who glared right back, except hers looked a lot more deadly.

"This is Max, a new friend of mine." Max glared at me for that comment.

Lissa looked her over with distaste. "You don't have any fashion taste. I mean, look what you're wearing." she said, giggling. I rolled my eyes. Max was wearing black, ripped jeans, a green tank top, and over that a green jacket with black paint splatters, as well as black converse. What was wrong with that? It just kinda screamed "Max!" if you ask me. I liked her style. It was something all her own.

All of the kids were watching Lissa now, ready for her to cut another student down. Most didn't stand up to her, so they could keep their reputation from crashing. "At least I'm actually wearing something." Max replied coldly, looking at Lissa's skirt, which barely came to her mid-thigh, and her very…revealing shirt.

"Whatever. You're just a (insert swearword of your choice here)." Lissa said before turning back to me. She opened her mouth to say something, but stopped at Max's next comment.

"And you're a slut, but you don't see me complaining." Max replied simply, sounding bored.

Lissa's head whipped around and she glared at Max. Max was now leaning back in her chair, her arms crossed and her eyes closed, head slumped forward so it looked almost like she was sleeping. When she didn't hear a reply, Max opened her eyes to look at Lissa. "Oh, I'm sorry, did I hurt your feelings? Are you going to go cry about it now and try to get Fang here to comfort you?" Max asked, rolling her eyes. The other students looked shocked, but then most started chuckling. Only members of Lissa's posse glared at her.

"Look, I could make your life miserable here." Lissa hissed at her.

Max laughed, but it was cold and bitter, there wasn't any humor in it. She leaned forward dangerously, her eyes flashing. "Trust me, you can't make my life any more miserable than it already has been. What are you going to do? Spread a few rumors? Ruin my rep? Do you think I even _care_ about that crap? Just remember this, you ever get on my bad side again, and it'll end in a trip to the hospital and the dentist, got it?" Max said, giving her a bitter, wicked smirk. Lissa looked terrified, and I chuckled. I knew for a fact that you _never_ wanted to be on the receiving end of Max's hostility. She could be freaking _terrifying_.

Max leaned back in her chair again as Lissa quickly excused herself. "That should keep her away for awhile. From me at least. She your girlfriend?" Max asked me. I was shocked. For once, she actually started the conversation.

I tried not to show it, but Max can read me pretty easily, and the corner of her mouth turned up in a small smirk. I shook my head. "A stalker is more the word you're looking for. She's been trying to get a date with me since the third grade." I said, shaking my head in annoyance.

Max rolled her eyes. "Not your type?" she asked.

"Isn't that obvious?" I replied. Max nodded.

"Ah, you must be the new student, Maximum Ride right?" Mr. Dixon asked her.

_Don't do it, Mr. Dixon, don't do it_, I thought. I hated the guy, but I wouldn't wish Max's wrath on _anyone_. That's just how terrifying she could be.

Max nodded.

"Would you like to tell the class something about yourself, Ms. Ride?" he asked.

"First of all, it's Max. Second of all, no. The only thing you need to know is that if you get on my bad side, you're screwed." Max said. And Mr. Dixon was, literally, saved by the bell. Well, we'd only been in homeroom and already my day was getting much more interesting. And I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing yet. By the end of the day, probably a bad thing, seeing as I'm not sure if Max will go the whole day without beating the living hell out of someone.

One can only hope, my friends. One can only hope.

**AN: Alright guys, there's the new chapter for you! Hope you liked it! Now review, so you can tell me if you did or not!**


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: Don't feel like a long AN, and I'm sure you don't want to read one. Here's the next chapter. Hop you enjoy it!**

(Fang's POV)

Max was in all of my classes. The only class she liked was chorus. And Ms. T was the only teacher she hadn't made look like an idiot. She didn't exactly get along with her, but she seemed to like Ms. T's sarcastic attitude. That didn't mean Max respected her though. They spent most of the class period shooting sarcastic comments at one another.

But, thankfully, she didn't get into any fights today. I drove us all back home. Max immediately went into the kitchen. Dr. M was there with a fresh batch of chocolate chip cookies. She smiled at us. "How was the first day of school?" she asked.

Max shrugged and looked at the cookies suspiciously. "What are those?" she asked.

We all looked at her like she'd started speaking a foreign language. "They're chocolate chip cookies. You've never had any before?" Ella asked.

Max shrugged. "My old foster homes weren't exactly the type to make homemade cookies for me." she replied, snatching one off the tray and biting into it, effectively burning her tongue. She flinched, but didn't do anything else about it. Her eyes widened in surprise some, and I saw a flicker of a smile on her face before it was gone. But she did grab five more cookies and a bottle of vanilla coke before going up to her room.

"I think she likes it." Ella said, laughing.

The others nodded, smiling. I went upstairs to Max's room. She frowned when she saw me. She was sitting at her computer desk, working on an essay that we had to do before the week was out. She had a cookie in her mouth, and was giving me this confused look. She looked…cute. For the first time, she looked more like a normal sixteen-year-old girl, not like she'd gladly smother you in your sleep.

"What do you want?" she asked.

"We had that project together." I replied. We had to make a poster together and it was all on birds.

"Oh yeah." she murmured. She frowned. "I'm not exactly artistically inclined."

"I can do that. How about you do the research?" I asked her.

She rolled her eyes. "What kind of birds are we doing it on?" she asked.

"Peregrine falcons." I replied.

She smirked. "Alright. Go get the poster board." she ordered.

(Max's POV)

This was going to be easy. Since I was part bird myself, I was fascinated by birds. I loved watching them fly around. They were a lot more graceful than I was because they were smaller. And the fact that they were natural. But I knew about all kinds of birds, from the harmless canary to the ferruginous hawk, the largest raptor in the US.

Fang seemed amazed by my knowledge of peregrine falcons. I was especially knowledgeable about falcons, since I was one. I wasn't sure what kind I was, but I knew for a fact that I was a falcon, since I could fly at up to 240-260 mph. And falcons are the fastest birds we have.

I kept putting out the facts, while Fang wrote everything down neatly. He even drew a peregrine falcon in the bottom corner of the poster. It looked great. "You're not half bad." I murmured. His eyes snapped up, meeting mine, and he looked shocked. I realized it was the first time I'd ever complimented Fang. I think it was the first time I'd complimented _any _of them.

"Thanks." he said. "I've been drawing for awhile." I nodded. "Well, the posters done, so I guess I'll be going now." I nodded again. Fang had been sitting at the desk, while I was on my bed. "See you later." he said.

"Of course." I said. "Seeing as you and Iggy practically live at this house."

He smirked at me. "Come on, you know you love having us around." I rolled my eyes and waved him away, annoyed all over again.

"Nope." I replied. He rolled his eyes and closed the door. What is it about that guy that gets on my nerves so bad?

**AN: Sorry it's so short, but that's why I'm putting up two chapters. The next one is a lot longer.**


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: I don't own MR. Don't really feel like a long AN. Hope you enjoy the chapter! **

(Max's POV)

I hate this. I hate this. I hate this. I hate this. I hate this. I. HATE. THIS.

Fang, Iggy, and the Martinez family had the _brilliant_ (note sarcasm) idea to go on a camping trip. Usually, I wouldn't complain. I love the open outdoors, and have spent a lot of time in the forests. But having your adoptive family trying to get you to talk every three seconds while trudging through the forest and making sure they don't step on a dangerous snake or something is annoying.

Right now, we were setting up camp. You know, building the tents and the fire. But, of course, Fang and I were sent to go find firewood. So now I was following Fang as he led us farther and farther into the forest. I wasn't concerned about getting lost. I have like this internal GPS. I always know what direction I'm going in, and I can easily find places I've been to before.

We had our firewood, both of us carrying big stacks of it. But Fang had took the lead, so I decided to let him wander around for a bit. Finally, I decided to try and put him out of his misery. "Fang, the camp's–"

"I know where the camp is." he interrupted.

I scowled. "You're going–"

"–the right way? Yes, I know."

My scowl deepened and I kept trying. Finally, I got fed up with it. He's such a stubborn, mule-headed idiot. I let him lead us around for awhile longer. "Why aren't we back to camp yet?" he growled.

"Because you're an idiot that went the wrong way." I snapped, annoyed.

"And how do you know that?" he asked.

"Because, we set up camp east. That–" I replied, pointing to the direction we'd been going in, "–is _west_ you moron!"

"How was I supposed to know that?"

"I tried to tell you! But you ignored me and kept going!" I yelled. He opened his mouth to say something else, but I turned and walked off, going the _right_ way this time. Geez. Stupid, stubborn, idiotic, non-talkative, son of a–

"Are you sure this is the right way?" Fang asked.

I counted to ten in my head so I wouldn't tear his head off. "Yes." I replied tightly.

"How do you know?"

"I just do." Fang opened his mouth to say something, but I cut him off. "Look, I followed you without saying hardly a damn word. Now shut the hell up and move." I growled, turning quickly on my heel and giving him my death glare. He gulped and followed me without a word.

It was getting darker and darker, and that wasn't a good thing. It was dangerous to move around the forest at nighttime. I could do it, but that's because Jeb and Margret, my mom, trained me to. By putting pretty much ever dangerous creature in a confined forest-like space with me and seeing how well I survived. Freaking (insert cussword of your choice here). Any of them would work. You can even be creative and put some together.

Anyways, Fang didn't have this training. Plus, he couldn't even see in the dark. He'd be useless deadweight. I could see much better in the dark than a human could, but I would have to pay attention to our surroundings, not making sure he didn't trip over a root or fall off a cliff.

When I stopped in a clearing and started clearing out leaves and stray sticks, Fang looked at me like he was wondering whether or not I'd gone bonkers. And trust me, I was almost there. "Start helping me clear out this place. We're spending the night here." I ordered.

"Why? We need to get back to the others! They're probably pulling their hair out by now!" he protested.

I sighed and turned to look at him. I was tired, cranky, and not in the mood for this. "Look, I know that they're worried. I know they're probably 'pulling their hair out by now.'" I said, using his words. "But it's dangerous to travel through the forest at night. There are so many dangers you can't see. So, please, just make this easier by shutting up and doing what I tell you to."

I don't know if it was the fact that I was asking him for help or the please, but Fang looked shocked. He nodded though, and helped me clear out the clearing and start a fire. I grabbed my pack and took out two packs of dried fruits. We'd get more when we got back to camp tomorrow. I threw him one and he caught it, though he looked surprised. That's how I could tell he was an amateur. He hadn't even brought extra food with him.

I told him to get some sleep, since we didn't have anything better to do anyways. He tried to protest, but one look from me made him shut up. Eventually, I ended up dozing off too.

(Fang's POV)

I woke up when I heard this whimpering noise. It was still dark. At first, I thought it was an animal of some sort, but I turned to see it was Max. Her whole body was tense and shaking. Her hands were curled into fists, and her face held a grimace on it. _She's having a nightmare_, I realized.

I scooted closer to her. "Max, get up. It's okay, it's just a dream." I murmured. I grabbed her shoulder so I could gently shake her awake, but her eyes snapped open as soon as I touched her. Next thing I knew, I was on the ground, Max sitting on top of me with both of her hands around my throat, a silent snarl on her face. I looked into sightless eyes, realizing that she was still half-asleep. She'd only reacted on instinct.

"Max, stop! It's me! Fang!" I choked out as her grip tightened. After a couple seconds, Max's eyes lost that glazed look. She looked down at me in surprise, then I saw fear and realization hit her as she realized what she was doing. She quickly let go and scrambled off of me. She looked like she was scared I was about to beat the hell out of her. Then, I realized she probably was.

"You were having a nightmare. Thought I'd wake you up." I said as an explanation. I looked into her eyes. "I'm not going to hurt you, you know."

Max sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "You shouldn't do that. I could've really hurt you." she told me.

"So you just want me to sit there and let you have a nightmare?" I asked her, raising an eyebrow.

Her jaw clenched and her eyes went distant with memories. She swallowed hard before she answered. "You don't get it. There's was this one foster home I was at. The father…sometimes, when he was drunk or hung-over, he'd wake me up by beating me." She grimaced. "But it was actually my _parents_ who caused this kind of a reaction from me." She spat out the word, as if it left a bad taste in her mouth. "They'd…" she trailed off, realizing what she was doing. She instantly clamed up.

Max hadn't told us anything about her parents. Ever. I sighed and scooted closer to her. She watched me warily, and flinched when I lifted my hand, waiting for me to hit her. Instead, she just stiffened when I placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "We're not going to hurt you Max. You're our family, no matter what you tell us, or what anyone else tells you. We know you've had a hard past, and we want to fix that."

She shrugged my hand off and looked away. "You can't fix something that's already done and over with." she murmured. "Besides, we're not family unless we're related by blood." She laid back down on her side, facing away from me.

"Who told you that?" I asked her, frowning.

"The first foster home I ever went to." she replied.

I sighed and reached over her, tucking some hair that was in her face behind her ear. "They lied." I told her softly, before scooting away from her and laying down, remembering her claustrophobia. I only fell asleep after I heard her breathing slow and deepen telling me she was asleep.

…_..the next morning…_**(AN: I was going to stop here, but I decided to be nice.)**

The next morning, I woke up to Max gently kicking me. "Come on. We have to get to the others before they report us missing or something." she told me. It took me a minute to figure out what she was saying. Then, everything that happened yesterday and last night hit me like a freight train and I was scrambling to my feet.

I looked over to see Max smirking at me, obviously amused. "Knew that would get you up." she told me. She tossed me my backpack and started to head out. I followed her. It was so weird. It was like she knew exactly where to go. She never looked around for a land mark or anything, she just kept looking forward.

Eventually, we walked into the clearing that was our original campsite. "Dr. M!" I called. She ran out of one of the tents. She looked at us for a minute before she ran up and hugged both of us. Max and I both stiffened. I wasn't a huggy person.

"Where were you guys? We were so worried! We thought something really bad had happened and we'd searched for you all day, but we couldn't find you, and then we started freaking out and wondering if we should call the police, but we didn't because we wanted to see if you'd–"

Max, using surprising agility, lunged at Nudge and slapped her hand over her mouth, cutting her off. "Fang is a stubborn idiot with a _terrible_ sense of direction." Max said as an explanation. "Can I have something to eat?"

"Right, you two must be starving." Dr. M said.

Iggy spoke up now. "Breakfast is ready." he said. "Max, you have some good timing."

Max shrugged. "'Course." she replied, walking over to him. He handed her a plate full of food, much more than a normal person would eat. I was glad for this, because Max had always eaten more than us, and she'd just had a small bag of dried fruit last night. Iggy also passed out plates to the rest of us.

When we were done, the kids suggested that we go swimming. Everyone but Max agreed. I found this strange. Max had always seemed like the sporty girl. I guess she just didn't want to swim.

(Max's POV)

The others decided to swim. I would've joined them, but I couldn't. Not with my wings. I'd done everything I could for eleven years to hide my wings, and I wasn't about to give that up now. Instead, I watched the others swim. I watched and Gazzy and Angel tackled Fang. With Nudge's help, they ducked him under the water. I chuckled quietly to myself. Then, I realized what I was doing. I couldn't get close.

I quietly picked up my guitar, which I'd insisted on bringing along and strummed a soft melody. I didn't even notice the others stop to watch me.

**AN: Ello people. Hop you enjoyed the capter!**


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: Yo guys. What's up? Here's the next chapter. Hop you like it! **

**I don't own MR.**

(Fang's POV)

I pulled up in the parking lot of the school. It was Monday. Ugh, kill me now.

The camping trip had gone relatively well. Max still wasn't opening up to us much, which kind of bothered me, but I guess that I should expect that. It's going to take awhile for her to trust us.

I got out of the car and walked beside Max up to the school. Then, suddenly, Max stopped. I stopped with her and gave her a questioning look. But she wasn't looking at me. She was looking at Ella and Nudge. Ari, the school jock and bully, was talking to them. This didn't surprise me. He'll go after anything in a skirt. But it seemed to bother Max. "Who is that guy?" she asked.

"Ari. Captain of the football team and man whore of the school." I replied.

Max's frown deepened into a scowl as Ari reached out to stroke Ella's cheek. Ella jerked her head back, a repulsed look on her face, and said something that seemed to tick him off. He loomed threateningly over them, and that's when Max moved. She walked to stand in the middle of Nudge and Ella, right behind them. I scowled and moved to stand next to her. Doesn't she know not to mess with this dude? Mess with him, and him and his buddies mess you up.

"Is there a problem here?" Max asked, her voice cold as ice. Ella and Nudge jumped and spun around to face her. Max ignored them. She was focused on giving Ari her worst death glare. I shivered next to her. What am I thinking? It's Ari who shouldn't mess with Max.

"No. What would make you think that?" Ari asked. He looked a little scared, but was trying to flirt with her too.

"Oh, nothing. Just the fact that my…sisters here," Max said, hesitating slightly, "need to get to class, and you're keeping them from doing such."

"Well, there are things that we can do that are much more fun than class." Ari said, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

Max smirked slightly. "You really think you're funny, don't you?" Her smirk turned into a scowl, and her tone turned deadly. "Look, how about we make a deal. Leave my sisters alone, and I won't put you in the ER." she growled, her eyes flashing dangerously.

Ari smirked. "I like 'em feisty." he said, reaching out to touch Max's cheek. That was his big mistake. She grabbed him arm and twisted it, his body instinctively moving with it to lessen the pain. He was now almost fully faced away from us. "Ow! Let go!"

"Back the hell off." she growled, shoving him forward. He stumbled and ended up doing a face plant in the dirt. He scrambled up and glared at her. "You're going to regret that." he snapped.

"Try me." Max replied, glaring. Ari growled and then turned on his heal and stalked away. Max glared after him for a moment before putting a hand gently on Nudge's and Ella's shoulders, just like she did with Gazzy and Angel ran into that guy in the bar. It was a comforting gesture. "Come on. We've got to go to class."

Max insisted on walking both Ella and Nudge to homeroom. And I wasn't about to let Ari ambush her in the hall by herself, so I followed her. We went into homeroom, and that's when I realized what just happened. Max had become protective of Ella and Nudge. Which meant she cared. Which meant we were getting somewhere.

Of course, Iggy told everyone else what Max had done as soon as we got home. Dr. M was worried about Ari's threat, and asked Max if he'd done anything to her. And, no lie, this was her answer, "Yep. I can see why he's so threatening. Because I'm just going to _die_ if he shoots another spitball at me." This was complete with sarcasm and an eye roll.

"So, looks like Maxie really does like us, even if she doesn't want to admit it." Iggy taunted.

Max stiffened. "I wasn't about to let the school man whore, as Fang called him, prey on two girls like that. I'm distrusting, not cold-hearted." she said, glaring at him.

Iggy held up his hands in surrender. "Relax. I was just yanking your chain."

Max rolled her eyes. "I'm going up to my room."

"Of course you are." Iggy mumbled. No one but me should've been able to hear him, and that's just because I was sitting right next to him, but Max turned around.

"Excuse me?" she growled.

Iggy shrugged. "I was just saying that you're always up in your room." he said. "You'd think that you could at least give us a chance. How are you supposed to trust us if you never spend time with us?"

Max sighed. "Give me something interesting to do and maybe I'll consider it." she grumbled.

"We could go shopping!" Nudge said. Max grimaced.

"I don't think that Max likes that option." I said, smirking at her. "What do you want to do?" I asked her.

Max looked out the window. She shrugged. "I'm not exactly up to speed on recreational stuff." she mumbled. "I always had to stay in my room in my old foster homes." So _that's_ why she's always in her room. Must be an old habit.

"We could play laser tag." I said.

Max looked lost. "What?" she asked.

"Laser tag. It's when you go into this dark room, and they put this vest on you that has all kinds of sensors on it. And they give you these guns and you have to try to shoot the opponent." Nudge explained.

Max looked alarmed, so I decided to clarify. "They're infrared guns. They shoot out an infrared light that hits the sensors and you score points. It's fun, and completely harmless." I said. Max looked slightly interested, and I knew exactly how to seal the deal. "I bet I can beat you." I smirked, waiting for her reaction.

She looked at me, and a smirk slowly made its way on her face. "No way." she replied, shaking her head. "I can wipe the floor with you at anything."

"So, it's decided then? You'll come with us to play laser tag?" Gazzy asked excitedly. Max nodded. "Yes!" He punched the air for effect.

The others ran off to get ready, and Max turned to look at me. "You did that on purpose, didn't you?" she said, smirking.

"Did what on purpose?" I asked.

"Played on my competitive personality so that I'd go." she replied knowingly.

I sighed. "Just try it out. I'm sure you'll like it. Besides, we're all really excited that you're going. Just try to have fun for once, alright?" I asked her.

She slowly nodded. "Maybe you guys aren't so stupid after all." she said, not looking at me. She was looking out the window.

"Thanks." I said. Then what she actually implied registered and I added, "Hey! You thought we were stupid?"

"Then again, maybe you are." Max muttered, rolling her eyes. "First of all, you're a cry baby. Second of all, do you really want to know what I thought about you when I first got here."

"No, I'm more concerned about what you think about us now." I said, much more serious this time.

Max glanced at me. "You guys are…different." she mumbled. "I don't know."

"We're not going to hurt you." I said.

She was wary. "Yeah, like I haven't heard that one before." she said sarcastically.

"I'm serious, Max."

"So am I."

We were quiet until the others came back down. Then we got into town and headed off.

(Max's POV)

Laser tag is weird. But…kinda fun too. When you go in, they make you put this weird vest thing on, and it has a little laser gun attached to it. Then, you basically just run around and shoot the other people. You have a certain amount of bullets, and you have to run back to your base when you run out. When you get hit, your vest makes this sound and everything turns off. Then, about ten seconds later, you "come back to life" and start playing again.

And you don't just get points for hitting other people. You can also shoot the opponents base. But it's a small sensor that's a lot harder to hit. Luckily, it seems that being a fast mutant bird-kid gives you an advantage. Also, I can see a lot better than they can. The room is pretty dark, but it also has all these neon lights. Oh, and you're on teams too. At first, we played with me, Ella, Nudge, and Angel on a team, while Fang, Gazzy, and Iggy were on a team. But then they figured out that I beat at this game, so they put me on a team with Gazzy, Angel, and Ella. We still kicked their butts.

"Told you that you wouldn't beat me." I told Fang, walking beside him.

He sighed. "Yeah, yeah. You got me." he said. I stuck my tongue out at him. He seemed surprised, but I guess that's because I've never really show them how immature I can be. "So, how was it?" he asked.

I shrugged. "It was different. But kinda fun."

"We should do it again sometime." he said. I nodded, and, again, he seemed shocked.

I smirked at him and rolled my eyes, hopping into the car. "It was cool."

**AN: Yo. So review and tell me what you think. Ideas/suggestions/requests are always considered! **


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: Yo people! Still in Orlando and loving it! **

**I don't own MR! Now, on with the chapter!**

(Fang's POV)

We were once again at Sue's teen club. Even Dr. M came with us. Usually anyone over the age of nineteen couldn't come in, but Sue made an exception because she was Max's mom. Sue seemed to think that we could fix Max. I hoped she was right.

Speaking of Max, she was standing guard by the door again. The rest of us were sitting at the bar. I'd been watching her most of the time. She studied every person that came in closely. Some she let by, others she made stop and talk to her, and then there were a few that she'd have to kick out. But there were fewer people coming in now, and she looked bored. So I decided to help her out some.

I walked over to her. "Yo." I said.

She nodded to me and went back to watching the door. I leaned up against the wall with her. "So, is security guard a fun job?" I asked her.

Max shrugged. "It has its high points." she replied.

"Like…?"

Max sighed, obviously realizing she wasn't going to get rid of me. "It has some action. And I don't really have to wear a uniform, just the shirt. Especially not like that." she said, gesturing to one of the waitresses that worked here. She had her uniform shirt buttoned a little too far down and a skirt that was a little too short. And by a little, I'm politely saying _a lot_.

I nodded. "Seems like it'd be a cool job." I replied.

"You know, if you want a job here, I can recommend you to Sue." Max offered. I was surprised by the offer. She must've mistaken my surprise, because her shoulders hunched defensively and she added, "Only if you're interested."

I smirked at her. "I'd like that. Think I could be a security guard?"

She nodded. "You'd probably be assigned with me. On the nights that I don't work, these two guys named Jonny and Gabe do. They're partners. Most places have at least two security guards at one time. I don't really need a partner, but Sue's been looking for one."

I frowned. "Why two? I mean, isn't one enough?" I asked.

"Nope." Max said, shaking her head and sighing. "If a big fight or a brawl starts, it's both easier and safer to have at least two security guards to break it up. You know, so they can watch each others' backs."

"Has there ever been a fight when you were working your shift?"

Max hesitated, then nodded slightly. "Yeah. Luckily, it was a small one though. I was able to handle it myself. I got a good knock on the head for it, but that was about it." she replied.

We were quiet for a while, Max still checking the few people who were still coming in. "Alright, I'll do it." I said. At her confused look, I added, "I want the job. I mean, you're always too busy looking out for everyone here to look out for yourself. Someone has to watch your back."

Max glared at me. "I don't need a partner. I don't even want one. I just know that Sue will feel better if I do have one." she snapped, rolling her eyes.

After everyone left, Max grabbed my arm and dragged me over to Sue. I almost tripped because she grabbed me from behind, so she was dragging me with my back facing her. Yeah, not fun. We stopped and she spun me around way too fast, making me dizzy. "That wasn't nice." I said, frowning at her while I tried to get the world to stop spinning.

"Max, what are you doing to this poor boy?" Sue asked, smiling at both of us.

Max smirked back at her. "Fang here is interested in being my partner." she replied, her smirk turning into an evil grin.

Sue sighed and looked at me. "Are you sure you want the job? Max trains you, and she's scared away all the others who tried. One even ran screaming, as she tells me."

Max's grin grew at the memory. "Like a little girl with a spider on her face." she said. She looked at me. "It is pretty gruesome. If I have to have somebody watching my back, it should at least be somebody capable and with _some_ brains."

I nodded. "I'll try." I told both of them. "I mean, someone's got to watch Max's back while she's watching everyone else's."

Sue smiled. "Thank you, Fang." she said. She hugged both of us. "Goodnight." She started to walk away, but then turned back around to face Max. "And Max? Please go easy on this one."

"Can't make any promises!" she said. She turned to me. "We start tomorrow. 8:00, meet me at the gym." She turned and walked out to the car.

…Okay, I'm really starting to get worried. What torture will Max put me through?

(Max's POV)

Fang was thirty minutes late to the gym. "You know, if this is what you do to your girlfriends, I'm not so surprised that you're single." I said, rolling my eyes. "You can't be late, especially be thirty minutes. Your shift begins at 7:30 p.m. Not any later. Come on."

We walked over to the treadmills and I told him to get on. I made him run five miles. "You're good." I said, turning the machine off. He got off and put his hands on his knees, leaning over and panting. "In what situation would we have to run five miles?" he said, attempting to snap at me, but failing.

I shrugged. "First, it was a good cardio. Second, we probably won't, but this was more of an endurance test. You get tired a lot faster in a fight than you do running on a treadmill. Come on." I walked over to a punching bag next.

"Don't I get a break?" he asked, still panting slightly, but having mostly recovered.

"You don't need one." I replied. I put my hand on the punching bag. "Alright, next, I've got to make sure you actually know how to fight. So, I want you to beat the crap out of this punching bag."

He sighed, but nodded, getting into a fighting stance. He started throwing punches and kicks at rapid speed. To my bird-kid senses, it looked like he was moving in slow motion, but I knew that it would be hard for a human to follow. After about thirty minutes of that, I stopped him. He looked at me for my opinion. "Not bad." I said. "You're pretty fast, and strong. Speaking of strong…" I trailed off and headed over to the bench press. "How much do you weigh?"

He looked surprised by the question, then smirked. "180 pounds of pure muscle." he replied. I rolled my eyes and packed forty-five pounds on each side, half his body weight.

"Alright. You should be able to lift at least half of your body weight fifty times." I said, moving aside and gesturing for him to sit down.

"All this to be a security guard." he mused, shaking his head as he laid down.

"Well, we don't want just any moron guarding the place. It might be a teen club, but it can get pretty rowdy. Plus, we sometimes help the bar across the street when a big fight breaks out. I need to make sure you're capable of handling that." I explained, leaning against the wall and gesturing for him to begin.

He did fifty reps, and even went past that, probably showing off. "Don't get cocky." I told him. "The day you underestimate your enemies is the day you're dead." At his look, I added, "That can be used in a figurative or literal sense, moron."

"How?" he asked, rolling his eyes as he put the bar back on the bar holder.

I shrugged. "If you're a business man and you underestimate your competition, they'll side swipe you, and then you're screwed." I replied. "In better news, I only have one more requirement for you."

"Alright, what is it?" he asked.

I turned. "Hey, Bruno!" I called. "Come over here!"

Bruno's head shot up and he came over. Now, let me explain. Bruno is the biggest man I have _ever_ met. Well, except Erasers. I've seen him knock people out with one punch, a hard thing for a human. Fang's eyes widened. "Holy crap." I heard him mutter to himself. He looked at me. "Remind me not to get on this guy's bad side."

I chuckled. "Bruno here works at the bar I told you about as a security guard. I don't expect you to beat him, but I do expect you to last three minutes against him. And trust me, that's pretty damn hard."

"I'd watch out for this one if I were you." Bruno said in his heavy accent, pointing to me. He was Italian. He even taught me how to speak Italian, which was pretty cool. "She _beat_ me in a fight. I mean, I lost badly to this one. She is feisty, that's for sure."

Fang looked at me in surprise. "Wow." he murmured. He and Bruno got into the ring and faced off. Fang lasted the three minutes, but he's going to have some painful bruises from it. He got out of the ring slowly. "That was pretty good, piccolo combattente. I'm impressed."

"Um…thanks?" he said.

Bruno nodded. "See you around, Max." he said.

"What did he call me?" Fang asked after he left.

"He called you 'little fighter' in Italian."

"You speak Italian?"

I nodded. "Thanks to Bruno. I also speak Spanish and French. But both of those are school related. I went into this special foreign language program for 8th grade, and continued with it for my next two years in high school." I said.

"Why? I mean, it's cool that you learned all that, but why do you want to?"

I shrugged. "It's fun, learning other languages. Plus, if I ever go to France, Spain, or Italy, I'll be a lot better off than any of you are. By the way, you've got the job." I walked away before he could say anything else. This was going to be…interesting. Fang was a pretty good fighter. For a human. I smiled to myself. I can't wait until tomorrow night.

**AN: Alright, guys, there's your chapter. Now, you have your own mission…REVIEW! But, seriously, tell me what you think, or what I need to improve on. Thanks!**


	9. Chapter 9

**AN: Yo. Here's the next chapter. I don't' own MR, just like the last time I updated. Enjoy!**

(Fang's POV)

I walked into Sue's club at exactly 7:30, remembering how ticked Max got when I was late. "Right on time." Max said. She didn't smile or anything. She looked pretty stotic. She was already in her security guard shirt and leaning up against the wall. A few early goers were already in the club and Max was watching them closely, as if expecting them to start beating the crap out of each other any second now.

My guardians had _insisted_ coming with me, to make sure this job wasn't too dangerous. They both looked over Max, surprised. I guess when I said Max they thought I meant another guy. Max threw a shirt at my head, hitting me in the face with it.

"See, with that focus, you won't get far." she said, rolling her eyes.

"Any last minute pointers?" I asked.

"Yeah. Stay focused, watch your back, and don't get hit." she replied. "Go get changed. And who do we have here?" she asked, the last question directed to my parents. It was meant to come off as polite, but she just sounded bored.

John narrowed his eyes, obviously not liking her attitude. "My name is John. This is my wife, Rachel. We're Nick's guardians." he replied, gesturing to me. Oh God. "We came here to supervise Nick's job. Make sure it won't get him into trouble."

Max stared at me, then busted out laughing. All of the employees, as well as Sue, Dr. M, and the rest of the gang stared at her. It was the first time she'd actually laughed out loud. Her laugh was…nice. She actually sounded like the carefree teen she was supposed to be. The others moved closer so that they could see what she was laughing at.

"Your name is _Nick_?" she finally managed.

"Shut up." I said, feeling my cheeks heat up.

Max shook her head, still chuckling. "That name doesn't fit you at all." Then she turned more serious. "As for you two," she said, turning back to my parents, "you aren't allowed in here. It's a teen club."

"Dr. Martinez is in here." Rachel replied. You see, Rachel and John were actually my aunt and uncle. I was given to them because the state declared my actual parents couldn't take care of me. I still visit them all the time though. Still I hate living with Rachel and John. They're so stuck up and snobby.

"Exactly. Besides, you have two little kids in here as well." John added.

"Yes. But Dr. M is helping. And Angel and Gazzy are my little siblings. I've been a part of this place for a long time, so they're allowed. You aren't." Max replied, straightening and lifting her chin, daring them to stand up to her.

John foolishly took that bet. "You call your mother 'Dr. M'? Do you know how disrespectful that is?"

"She's my adoptive mom." Max replied, eyes narrowing.

"That explains some things." Rachel murmured.

Max glared at her and she seemed surprised that Max had heard her. "I think you should leave." Max said, her voice deathly calm. "Or Fang here might get his first lesson early."

"Is that a threat, young lady?" John asked angrily.

Max looked at the four of us. "Who are you talking to? I don't see a young lady here…is there something you aren't telling us?" she asked. Everyone but John and Rachel laughed. "I'm not a 'young lady'. I'm a survivalist, fighter, and tomboy. And I don't have time for idiots. Now get out or I'll kick you out. And no, it's not a threat, it's a damn promise."

"Look, you can't–"

"Get the hell out." Max growled, cutting Rachel off. She gave them her signature death glare.

Rachel flinched away, but John glared right back. "Come on, Nick. You don't need to be working with _her_. We're going back home."

"No, I'm staying here. Max is my friend, and I want to work here. Besides, you aren't my parents. You can't tell me what to do." I said, rolling my eyes. "Besides, it's Fang."

I just changed my shirt right there, not bothering to go into the back. I threw it in the corner and moved to stand next to Max. "I believe she told you to get out. You know they can call the cops on you for trespassing, right? Do you do that?" The last question was directed to Max.

She nodded. "All incidents are reported to the police. This will also be reported." she replied.

"As what?" John asked angrily.

"Public disturbance." Max said, smirking. The people around us cheered, knowing that Max had just pulled a fast one on John. "We might even be able to throw trespassing in there."

John glared. "What time will he be home?" he asked.

Max shrugged. "I'm not his mother. Whenever the club closes. Maybe even later. You know, employee parties and stuff." she replied, smirk still in place. "Now, this is the last time I'm saying it. Get. Out."

John glared one last time before grabbing Rachel's arm and dragging her out. I laughed. "I don't think anyone has ever talked to them like that before. They didn't even know what to do." I said, shaking my head.

"So, who are they, if they aren't your parents?" Max asked.

I explained the situation. "I can't believe we actually got you to laugh." I said, shaking my head in amazement.

"Well, Nick doesn't really fit you." Max replied, shrugging. "I thought it was funny. But it's not really Nick, is it? Is it _Nicholas_?" She studied my face then started chuckling, trying to refrain from bursting out in laughter again. "What were your parents thinking?"

"Actually, my parents made me Fang. When I went to live with my aunt and uncle, they thought it was a ridiculous name and said my new name was _Nicholas_." I growled, spitting the word out. "I said hell no and told everyone I met that my name was Fang. They weren't happy."

Max shrugged.

"What about you? You have a very strange name yourself. How did you get Maximum Ride?" I asked.

"I named myself. My mom and dad weren't great parents. They didn't bother with names. I named myself Maximum because Jeb, my dad, was always saying I was the maximum. Ride was after Sally Ride. She was the American woman to go into space. Let's just say that we had something in common." Max replied.

I was shocked that she'd answered. Max hadn't told us much about her past, and nothing about her real parents. "Ah. It fits, you know. A unique name for a very unique girl." I replied, smirking. Max raised an eyebrow in surprise, but didn't comment.

She looked away again, suddenly putting her walls back up. I inwardly sighed. Guess we weren't past that stage yet. People started coming into the club. "Look sharp." she said. "Oh, and another last minute piece of advice. Try to act badass. It intimidates people. Also, drunks can be much more dangerous than they would be sober. They are slower and their accuracy might be off, but they don't feel pain as easily. They're drunk minds don't register it as fast. Oh, and try not to act like you're new at this." she said.

We didn't have any problems at first. It was just normal people coming in. No fights broke out, and no drunks or old people tried to break in. Then, Ari and his buddies came in. They were obviously drunk, probably stoned to. They tried to get in, but Max stood in the way, so fast I didn't even see her. I quickly moved to stand beside her.

"You can't come in here." Max said. "Please leave."

Ari scowled. "Why not?" he asked, his words so slurred I barely understood him.

"Because you're totally wasted." she replied. "Now leave, before we force you to." I noticed that, just like last time, everyone stopped to watch.

"Shut up!" he yelled drunkenly. He swung at Max, who easily dodged and punched him in the stomach. And then a fight broke out. Which was bad, because they outnumbered us about five-to-one.

I blocked one's punch and kicked his feet out from under him, before roundhouse kicking his friend behind him. I looked over to make sure Max was okay. She Spartan kicked someone in the chest so hard, he flew back at least four feet. I turned back and ducked just in time for a fist to go over my head. I kicked the guy in the side and then his knee. Not hard enough to break it, but definitely hard enough to hurt.

I turned again to see a guy coming at me with a knife. Suddenly, an arm wrapped around his neck and I saw that it was Ari. His face turned pink, and then blue. His eyes had just fluttered shut when Max let go. She was slightly panting, but not nearly as hard as I was.

She dodged a swipe at her head, and kicked the guy in the face before pointing at Ari's body. "Don't do that." she ordered, referring to the choking she'd just done. I nodded and blocked a kick, grabbing the guy's foot. "Don't hold back either. If you have to break a bone, break it!" I heard her call.

Okay. I grinned. "Sorry. Boss's orders." I said, bringing my elbow down on his knee. It broke with a sickening crack and, after a second's delay, the guy fell down screaming in agony. The fight went on for a little longer. Eventually, we had all of them knocked out cold. I bent over my knees, panting. Max was panting too, but she still didn't seem as tired as I was. I don't know how she did it. Here I was, drinking in oxygen like it was going out of style, and she seemed like she could go another fifteen minutes (Geez, it seemed like an hour!).

"Not bad for your first time." Max said, smirking.

I gestured to Ari. "How did you know when to let go?" I asked.

Max's smirked dropped. "Practice." she replied, her eyes going distant.

(Max's POV)

"Practice." I said. It was actually Jeb's doing. He'd make me choke another experiment, and tell me when to stop. Eventually, he stopped telling me. I just learned myself. It's different for everyone, but a trained professional can do it to just about anyone.

"That's why I told you not to do it. You wouldn't know how to let go. Doing that takes training and experience. Along with a lot of practice." I took a deep breath and looked at Fang. He was still panting, sucking in oxygen as if there wasn't much left. "You need to work on your endurance." I said, smirking.

"Haha. You're hilarious." he said through his pants. Nice to know his sense of humor wasn't damaged. Even if he had a bad split lip. I grabbed one of the guys and threw them out, then continued on with it. When Fang tired to help, I rolled my eyes and pushed him down, making him sit. "Relax for a minute." I ordered before moving on.

When I was done, I called Asher over. "Call an ambulance." I said.

"Why? You guys aren't hurt, are you?" he asked anxiously.

"Relax, mother hen." I said, rolling my eyes. I smirked at Fang. "Our little newbie here broke one of their legs. Not bad, huh?"

Asher grinned. "Dang. You really know how to choose 'em, Max." He kneeled down and clapped Fang on the back. "Not bad, newbie. Maybe you'll really make Max proud."

"Hey, I owe her. She saved me from a nasty stab wound." he replied, grinning at me. He wasn't breathing as hard now.

I shrugged. "That's my job." I replied. I sat next to Fang, leaning against the wall like he was. "Right now, my job is to look after both this place, and you. Don't thank me yet."

Dr. M and the rest of the gang came up to us, while Asher ran to call an ambulance. "Are you two okay?" Dr. M asked worriedly.

I nodded in reply, and saw Fang do the same.

"That was amazing! You guys were so cool! I mean, they couldn't get in very many hits, and you were beating them up! And you made it look so easy! Especially you Max, and how you choked Ari like that…it was so awesome!" Nudge ranted excitedly. Wow…didn't take her for the fighting type.

Iggy grinned down at us. "That was pretty cool.

"Yeah, you totally kicked their a–"

"Gazzy." I warned, cutting him off.

"Butts." he substituted.

"That's what I thought." Angel sat in my lap and I looked down at her in surprise, but I let her stay.

"Are you guys sure you're okay?" she asked worriedly.

I nodded. "I'm fine. But could you do me a favor? Go ask Sue for some ice for Fang's split lip."

She smiled up at me. "Okay Max." she said, running off to go find Sue.

I looked at Fang. "I thought I told you don't get hit." I said, mock-scowling at him.

He playfully glared for a second, then he just laughed. The others joined him, and I just shook my head at all of them, still carefully watching the few people who were still coming in. Fang's not half bad at this job. Maybe I won't end up regretting that I recommended him.

**AN: Hope you like it. It's late, so I'm sorry if it's not my best chapter. Goodnight! Review!**


	10. Chapter 10

**AN: Alright, so, thanks to Anne Taylor, I'm updating a little sooner than I planned. Since I really don't want to have your sleep deprivedness (I don't think that's a word) on my shoulders. So here's the next chapter! Enjoy! **

**This chapter is going to be kind of dark. It might seem random, but I wanted to show just how much Max has come to care about the others, even if she doesn't show it. So it's not really random. And it's going to be really long. It's kind of like two chapters in one because I didn't want to separate the whole thing and leave you with a sucky cliff, because that is always cruel and unusual punishment. Besides, I find longer chapters more fun to read. **

**Sorry to anyone who finds the following chapter too…I can't think of a word. Dark, I guess, even though I've already used that. But, I promise, it gets better. **

**Oh, and I'm back from Orlando! And, before I forget, I don't own MR because I'm neither old, nor a guy, and therefore I'm not JP. **

* * *

**(AN: I finally figured out how to use the line thingys! Score for me!)**

(Max's POV)

You know what sucks? When you tell yourself that, no matter what, you _won't_ get close to a certain group of people, and then what do you do? Get close to them. How do I know this? Because I'm super protective of them. How do I know that? Because I almost jumped up and went out to kill the guy when Ella told us that some dude asked her out. Isn't it supposed to be a brother's job to get all protective of their little sisters and kill their boyfriends? So, it's supposed to be Fang and Iggy's job. Instead, here I am, sulking because my sister's boyfriend is coming over for dinner and Dr. M said that I can't, under any circumstances, break his face. Damnit.

I sighed as the doorbell rang and got up. "I'll get it." I called out. I saw Ella send me a worried warning look, probably trying to tell me not to kill her new boy. I yanked open the door and my heart stopped. And not for the reasons that most girls hearts stopped.

Ella's new boy was tall, about five-elevenish, with red hair and green eyes. He was also built like a linebacker. He had an okay face, I guess. But he reminded me of the others. His eyes seemed cheerful, but I could see a cold, hard edge underneath. And his grin was wicked, just like the others had been.

I glared at the kid, my mind working at a hundred miles a minute. I stepped aside to let him in, my walls instantly coming up, erasing all trace of emotion. He looked around. "Nice place. I'm Jake." he said calmly.

I didn't answer as I walked back to the kitchen. Ella grinned when she saw him. He returned it. Was I the only one that noticed the hungry look in his eyes? _Relax…maybe you're just getting paranoid_, I thought, but I knew I was just lying to myself. I'd learned the hard way to trust my gut, and my gut said this guy was bad news. I'd have to keep a close eye on him.

He walked over and wrapped his arms around her waist, kissing her on the cheek.

"Relax." a deep voice whispered from beside me. Smart move on Fnag's part. He knew that if he'd startled me, he would've ended up on the floor in some kind of pain. "He doesn't seem that bad."

I snorted, still glaring at the guy. I guess I can't really call him a kid, since he looked to be about my age. "He reminds me of the others." I replied, just as quietly.

"Others?"

I sighed impatiently. "The other foster homes. You know, the ones that _beat the living hell out of me_? Yeah, he reminds me of those. I don't trust him."

"You don't trust anyone." Fang pointed out.

I turned my death glare to him and he flinched. "Well, I don't trust _him_ especially."

"Look, you're just over reacting. Ella really likes this guy. Please don't ruin her fun." he asked.

"Whatever." I hadn't planned on getting involved. Yet, anyways. But I swear, if I find even the smallest bruise or cut on her, and I figure out it was from him, I'll kill him. I'll rip his freaking spine out and beat him with it. I'll–

"Max, dinner's ready." Dr. M said. She noticed me glaring at Jake and gave me an exasperated look. "Max, calm down. He's just a boy. Not everyone is out there to hurt others."

I opened my mouth to tell her my suspicions about him, but then closed it again. What was the point? She'd just tell me the same thing that Fang did. That I was over reacting, and not to ruin Ella's fun. But I don't think that I was overreacting by any stretch of the imagination. I know that there's something wrong with this kid. And I'm going to figure out what.

* * *

It's been a week. One freaking week since Ella brought that idiot home with her. And I haven't found him doing anything wrong yet. But I've learned from experience that that doesn't mean there isn't. Right now, I was waiting outside of the school, waiting for the others. I was especially jumpy today. More people were crowding around the area we met up at, and my claustrophobia was practically suffocating me.

I moved over to a less crowded spot, just as I spotted the others coming out. But when they got here, I noticed one was missing. Ella. _Shit. Alright, Max, don't jump to conclusions._ "Where's Ella?" I asked, my tone casual.

"Probably sucking face with her boyfriend." Iggy replied. Geez, he didn't know how much that statement pissed me off.

I rolled my eyes and started walking towards the school. "Where are you going?" Fang called.

"Just going to see if I can find her real quick before we leave." I threw over my shoulder before the school doors shut. I turned right, heading to Ella's locker, where her friends were standing around gossiping. Ella was usually with them. "Hey, have any of you seen Ella?" I asked. It wasn't exactly polite, but not rude either. Just neutral.

"You're her sister…Max, right?" One of the girls asked, annoyingly ignoring my question. I nodded and she grinned at me. "I'm J.J. She talks about you all the time."

"Is that good or bad?" I said warily.

"Oh, she only says good stuff about you. She says that you try to distance yourself, but you only succeed half the time, and that you're an awesome sister. She also said you're full name was Maximum Ride. I wish I had a cool name like that. Mine's Jennifer Joy." She stopped here to roll her eyes. I bet she and Nudge got along great. "What were my parents thinking, right? Anyways, how did you get your name?" she asked.

I shrugged, not willing to answer that question. Yeah, I told Fang that I named myself. I've also known him for a couple months. "Look, I really need to find Ella. Can we pick up this conversation later?" I asked, struggling to restrain my patience. I was worried, and these idiots weren't helping.

"Sure. Jake took her out the side exit down there. He wanted some alone time with her." J.J. replied, pointing to said door.

"Thanks." was what I said out loud. Inside, I was swearing like a sailor. This was not good. I ran to out the door, not bothering to wonder what her friends would think. I got outside and looked around, cussing out loud when they were nowhere to be found. _Great! They can be anywhere by now!_ Then my keen ears picked up something that chilled me to the bone. Muffled screaming. I ran around the corner to the back of the building, where it was coming from. Oh, I found them alright, and what I saw made my blood boil.

* * *

(Ella's POV) **(AN: I've never done this before. Should be interesting.)**

I was talking to J.J. and the others after school when he came up. Jake. Insert dreamy sigh here, people. He wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me close to him. "Hey, babe." he said, pecking my cheek. "I was wondering if you'd hang out with me after school today. I'm sure your family won't mind."

I smiled. "Alright. I'll have to call them though."

"Do it when you get to my house." he replied, taking my hand and dragging me out the side exit. I called goodbye to my friends over my shoulder. We started walking towards the back of the building, and little warning bells started going off.

"What are we doing back here?" I asked warily.

Jake looked at my expression and laughed. "You've been around your paranoid sister too much. I just want to show you something." I didn't like the comment he made about Max, but decided to let it go for now. I'd talk to him about it later.

We went around the corner to the back of the building. Suddenly, he slammed me against the wall and started kissing me hungrily. "Jake, what are you doing?" I gasped.

"Shh." was his only reply. He shoved his tongue past my lips. "No. Jake, cut it out!" I yelled, trying to squirm away from him. He held me tight. "Shut up." he growled, then kissed me again. I started screaming when I felt his hand on my stomach, and I felt hot tears stream down my face. But it was muffled by his lips. _No one can hear me_, I thought, panicking. Still, I screamed. He started trying to take my shirt off, and my struggling increased as what he was trying to do really hit me. He was trying to rape me!

And then, suddenly, he was ripped away. It was a one second he's there, the next he's gone kind of thing. I slid to the ground, dazed, and looked up, only to see Max and Jake scrambling to their feet. Max moved to stand right in front of me, protecting me from Jake. She looked over her shoulder and gave me a small, reassuring smile. "It's okay now. I promise, he won't touch you again." I heard her say before she turned back to Jake.

* * *

(Max's POV)

When I saw Jake, pinning Ella to the wall, and heard her screams, saw her tears and that absolutely terrified look in her eyes, I just…reacted. I threw myself at Jake, tearing him away from Ella. We both went down and then scrambled right back up. I moved to stand right in front of Ella. He wasn't laying another damn finger on her.

I looked over my shoulder to see her staring up at me. I saw fear, confusion, and relief in her eyes. I gave her a small reassuring smile, trying to calm her. "It's okay now. I promise, he won't touch you again." I said, but I knew it wasn't enough. But I'd have to deal with that later. Right now, I have to keep this (insert swear word of your choice here) from finishing what he started.

I looked back and gave him my worst glare of all. I saw a spark of fear behind his eyes before he pushed it away. I'm sure I looked freaking murderous. I felt murderous, that's for sure. He grinned at me, that same, wicked grin that I'd seen on the faces of my other foster parents. The one that said, "You are so screwed. I'm about to make you wish you were never born."

Memories tried to push themselves to the surface, but I pushed them away. Now wasn't the time. I had to protect my sister from this whack job. He pulled out a knife and lunged at me. I couldn't fully dodge, because I was afraid he might end up hitting Ella. But moved so that he just gave me a small cut on my arm, not even that deep. I grabbed his arm before he could pull it back and brought my fist up. It connected with his elbow with a sickening, bone-breaking crack.

Jake screamed in agony, but I wasn't done with him yet. I punched him hard in the face and felt strangely satisfied when I felt his nose break under my fist. Then, I kicked him hard in the stomach, sending him flying back about ten feet before he hit the ground with a loud thud. I knew that the kick had broken some ribs. When I usually fought humans, I softened the blows by slowing at the last second. They were so fragile. I wasn't doing that this time. I knew I had to incapacitate him, and be quick about it.

I walked up to him slowly, deliberately. He tried to scramble away from me, pure fear in his eyes. I grabbed his chin, forcing him to look up at me. "I want you out of this town. You even come near my sister again, And I'll rip your throat out. And if I hear that you try to rape anyone else, and I mean _anyone_, _anywhere_, and I will personally come down and make you wish you were dead with every fiber in that sick, twisted body of yours. Understand?" I growled, barely containing my rage.

I wanted to kill the guy. And that scared me. Yes, I was a fighter. Yes, I'd hurt a lot of people. But I wasn't a killer. But, right then, right there…I felt like I would be. I felt like killing this idiot in the most painful way imaginable. And I couldn't stand that. I was a fighter. The whitecoats had been killers.

Jake nodded and was up and running as soon as I let him go. I walked back over to Ella. I still must've looked angry, because she shrunk away from me. I grabbed her wrist and hauled her up to me, hugging her tightly. Because I knew this is what she needed. She needed someone to be strong for her, and help her get over that close call. I'd had another friend who was raped, back at the orphanage. I helped her get through it, so I knew how these things worked.

I knew Ella was surprised, shocked even, that I'd hug her. I'd never hugged any of them before. I took a shaky breath. "Geez, Ella, you scared me so bad." I said. That seemed to snap her out of it. She wrapped her arms around me and held me tightly, sobbing into my shirt. I absently hoped she couldn't feel my wings before pushing the thought away. Now wasn't the time.

I rubbed her back. "It's alright. You're okay now, I promise. He's not coming back." I murmured, along with countless other reassurances. I kept my arm wrapped around her shoulders as I started guiding her back to the front of the school. She had both of her arms wrapped around me. She was still crying into my shoulder. My shirt was soaked, but it didn't matter. She was safe, and that's the important thing.

I stopped at the corner of the building, making sure everyone was gone before I walked out. Only the rest of our group was there, so I walked out to them. "You know you're going to have to tell them, right?" I asked her gently. She nodded, but her arms tightened around me.

"Will you help me?" she asked.

"Of course." I replied without a second's hesitation. She relaxed a little hearing that. The others were alarmed when they saw us, and they instantly surrounded us, asking if she was okay. My claustrophobia spiked and I glared at them. "Give her some room, guys." I ordered.

They obeyed, but still looked worried, and a little angry. "What happened? Who did this?" Nudge asked, looking like she was about to go bust in some heads. And this was sweet little Nudge I'm talking about.

"Later. Let's just get home." I said. I drove, with Ella in the passenger seat next to me. She was still crying, and I'd shoot worried glances at her every now and then. I sped the whole way home knowing that the sooner we got there, the better it would be for Ella.

I helped her into the house. Dr. M, Angel, and Gazzy immediately joined us when they heard Ella crying. We all sat down in the living room. I sat down next to Ella, rubbing her back comfortingly as she cried.

"Ella, what happened?" Dr. M asked her gently.

"Angel, Gazzy, go out in the back yard and play." I said, being surprisingly gentle. Everyone looked at me in surprise. They sulked, but did as they were told.

I rubbed Ella's back encouragingly. She moved her hands away from her face, but looked down at the floor. "Jake tried to rape me." she said, her voice so quiet, I didn't think they'd hear her. But I could tell by the looks on their faces that they did. They all looked horrified, worried, and angry. Very, very angry. "If it wasn't for Max, he would have done it. She got in the way and beat him up. Told him to never come back, and threatened him. I'm glad you were there."

That last part was directed at me, and she finally looked up, meeting my gaze. I kept my face calm, but could feel some of my emotions sliding through my mask. "I'm just mad I didn't get there sooner. I would've, but it took me a while to figure out where you were." I replied, kicking myself. If I had been more careful, she wouldn't even be going through this right now. I knew something was wrong. I _knew_ it. I should've been more cautious.

"Are you kidding?" Dr. M asked. "You were there, and you saved her from that."

"Yeah, you're like, a hero." Nudge said. She came over and sat next to me and Ella wrapping her arms around her sister. "I'm sorry you had to go through that. But Max won't be the only one making sure that idiot never comes back." She said it with so much venom that, if the situation hadn't been so serious, I would've laughed. Again, this is our sweet chatter box. Now she's our chatterbox-gone-deadly.

We all talked for a little while longer, comforting Ella. During random periods of the day, each one of them thanked me for saving her. I didn't feel like the hero they all thought I was. I should've been there sooner. I saw the signs and I should've taken the necessary precautions. Hell, I should've told Ella what I thought in the first place!

_I need to go for a fly._ I was walking towards the balcony to do just that when there was a knock on the door. I opened it, only to see Ella. Her eyes were puffy and red from crying, and she looked miserable. But she gave me a small smile. The first one she'd given since the incident.

I breathed a sigh of relief and she gave me a funny look. "What?" she asked.

"It's good to see you smile again." I replied, small smirk on my face. "You and Nudge are supposed to be the cheerful hyper ones. I'm supposed to be the quiet, not-so-smiley one. What can I do for you?"

"It just wanted to thank you again. I mean, if you hadn't been there…" she shuddered. "It would've been bad. Nudge was right. You really are like a hero."

I frowned. "I don't feel like one." I murmured. "If I was, he wouldn't have even touched you in the first place."

"That doesn't matter. You saved me from one terrible experience. So, thanks." Ella said.

I nodded. "You're welcome." She gave me another small smile and turned, walking back down the hall. I made one of my famous split second decisions. These people had given me a home, food, and something that I'd never had before. A family. The least I could do to repay them is show them how much I appreciate it. What better way to do that then actually letting them in? But…I didn't think I'd tell them about the wings. That might be pushing it.

"Wait, Ella." She turned back around and gave me a confused look. I walked over to her. "If you ever need to talk about anything, I'm a good listener. Whether it's something from Jake to clothes, to what we had for dinner, I'm here." I told her. Geez, that sounded really mushy, didn't it.

She looked surprised, but then gave me that same small smile. The one that said she still wasn't over it, but she was trying to move on. "Thanks, Max."

"No problem. We're sisters, right?" I replied, grinning. It wasn't one of my sarcastic grins, but a full blown grin, and Ella seemed surprised.

"Not that I'm not glad, but why are you being so…open?" she asked.

I shrugged. "You guys gave me something I'd never had before. You gave me a family, and a loving one at that. I figured the least I could do is open up. We're family now. Which is why I want you to come to me if you ever need to talk. I'm serious." I replied, giving her a stern look. "And you don't have to try so hard to get over it. Just take everything one step at a time, okay?"

She nodded. "Thanks Max. Goodnight."

"'Night." I said, smiling. And you know what? For once, I went on a fly just for the heck of it, instead of going to clear my head. And it was awesome.

* * *

**AN: Wow. I felt kind of dark writing that. And, man, is it long or what? But I felt this was an important part in the story. Also, don't worry, Ella's not going to turn emo or anything. Then next chapter is going to be set probably around two months in the future, and she'll be over it by then. That might seem short, but, remember, she wasn't actually raped. And, she had all of her family there helping her, along with Iggy and Fang. But, on a happier note, Max is opening up! I figure the big wing reveal will be in one or two chapters, and her whole story might be after that. I haven't decided yet though. Review, and tell me what you think. And don't worry, only this chapter and the chapter where Max explains her past will be dark. But after they figure out about Max's wings, things are going to get cheerier. Oh, and I'm writing this at midnight and going on about three hours of sleep, so I'm sorry if it's not well written. But review, and tell me what's good, and what isn't good. Wow…I babble a lot when I tired. **

**Love you guys!**

**Wolflover777**


	11. Chapter 11

**AN: Hello people. Not in the mood for a long AN today, so here's the next chapter. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own MR.**

(Max's POV)

Have you ever woken up to your wings cramping so painfully, it feels like they're about to fall off? Oh…right. Never mind. Well, let me tell you, it sucks. Especially when it's midnight on a Friday night and all you want to do is sleep. I guess it makes since though. I haven't flown for a while.

It'd been a month since I beat the living hell out of Jake, and Ella was doing well. She was acting more and more like her normal self. I've been much more open with the others, and I can tell they like it. I still haven't mentioned the wings though. I mean, I sort of want to, but, how would you bring that up in a conversation? "Hey guys, I just wanted you to know that I'm a mutant freak with wings because my parents are freaking idiots who didn't care about whether turning their daughter into said mutant freak would be a burden on her." Yeah. That conversation would go well.

My wings cramped again, the shooting pain snapping me out of my thoughts. I swore. It was supposed to storm tonight, but I had to go flying. I couldn't put it off any longer. I threw my covers off and climbed up to the balcony, and from there the roof. I took a running take off and soared into the air. I flew towards that old secret place I had discovered. It was usually were I went to on these flights.

Unfortunately, the storm really started. It was pouring down the rain, and I knew that I needed to land. I circled down, and was just about to pull my wings in to land when a strong gust of wind hit me from the side, slamming me into a tree, left wing first. It hit with a nasty crack, and an unimaginable pain flared through it, so strong it made me cry out. And this was me, Maximum Ride. I was conditioned not to scream, or even make a noise when I was hurt. I didn't even cry out when I was beaten by my other foster families.

I fell to the ground, hitting hard on my stomach, knocking the breath right out of me. I whimpered in pain, the rain still pouring on me. I got up and stumbled into the brush, which offered more protection from the rain. I grit my teeth from the pain, and made my way back to the house.

By the time I got back to the house, I was breathing heavily, and the pain that started out almost unbearable had spiked to a kill-me-now-and-put-me-out-of-my-misery pain. I used the spare key under the floor mat to open the door, and quietly stepped in. I knew I needed help, but I was reluctant to ask for it. Dr- I mean, Mom, was a vet, which was appropriate enough, but I'd hid my secret for so long, I just didn't know what to do.

The decision was made for me. "Max?" I heard a voice say. Thanks to the pain fogging up my brain, it took me several seconds to recognize the voice as Fang's. He and Iggy were having a sleep over with us tonight. Iggy was sleeping in Gazzy's room, and Fang was sleeping on our comfy couch. "Max, are you okay?"

He walked up next to me. It was dark in the house, so he couldn't see my wings. "Not really." I said, voice strained.

He must've heard, because he flipped on the light. His eyes grew the size of dinner plates when he saw my wings, and then they went to the one that hung at an odd angle. I avoided eye contact. "Max…what happened?" he asked. I glanced up at him. His face had gone from shocked to worried.

"I…went out flying and then it started to rain. I went to land, but a strong gust of wind slammed me into a tree, wing first. I broke it." I replied, grimacing. "You need to go get Mom."

He nodded, but first led me in the bathroom. He had me sit on the bathtub, with my legs actually in it, so I was facing away. I watched as he walked out of the room, and took a deep breath, trying to calm myself. It didn't work. Mom was about to figure out my biggest secret, and no doubt the others would too. After all, it's kind of hard to hide a freaking _broken wing_. How could I be so stupid? I knew not to fly out in the storm! I should've just taken some pain reliever and waited until the morning! Damnit!

I heard them coming into the room, and then, all too soon, Mom and Fang were there. I didn't look at them, but I heard Mom gasp and whisper my name. Her voice sounded like a mix between awe and horror. Then, I felt gentle fingers on my broken wing. I sucked in a breath and instinctively arched away from her hands. I don't care if it was gentle, it still freaking hurt!

"Sorry." Mom murmured. I looked back at her and was able to brace myself this time as she put her hands on my wing, examining the damage. I grit my teeth against the pain, feeling like I couldn't even breathe. "You broke it pretty bad, Max." It made it even worse that no one had touched my wings before. Well, except for the scientists, but that had always ended up in painful agony.

When Fang realized I couldn't really talk, he explained what happened. Mom then went to setting my wing and patching it up. "That should take a couple months to heal." she said.

"So, about two and a half weeks." I murmured, accidently saying it out loud.

"No, I mean at least two months." Dr. M said, frowning.

I shook my head. "I heal very quickly. Part of the…" I trailed off before starting again, "mutations."

"So, you're a mutant." Fang said bluntly.

"Yeah." I shifted uncomfortably. They were both looking at me with these surprised faces. Finally, I couldn't take it anymore. "Take a picture. It'll last longer." I growled, standing up. I was still a little shaky, and my wing still hurt like a son of gun, but I couldn't take them staring at me.

"Max, calm down. We're just a little surprised is all. You really need to take it easy, I mean, you are hurt." Fang said, grabbing my arm as I tried to brush past them.

"Max, how did this happen?" Mom asked worriedly.

I sighed and yanked my arm from Fang's grasp, running a hand through my hair. "I'll tell you tomorrow. But, I'll give you a hint. I told you my biological parents were bastards." I said before walking back into my room. I carefully laid down on the bed. I wasn't looking forward to tomorrow.

(Fang's POV)

There's one thing I have to say. The looks on the others faces when Max showed them her wings? _Priceless._ I thought their eyes were going to pop right out of their head. It was hilarious!

Of course, Max didn't really have much of a choice on showing them her wings. They were sticking out of her shirt. They were folded, but not up against her back, like they usually were. She said that it hurt for her to fold her wings in all the way with her broken one. Actually, she said it hurt too much to move it.

We were all sitting around the kitchen table. Max was eating some cereal. I had a feeling she was stalling, not wanting to tell us about her past. "Max." I finally said in a warning tone. Max looked up at me innocently. "Can you just tell us already?"

"Angel and Gazzy can't be in here." was all she said.

Angel pouted. "Why not? We won't tell anyone!" she yelled.

"Yeah! You shouldn't leave us out! It's not fair!" Gazzy added.

Max eyes turned hard, like they were when we first met her. Both of the kids instantly shut up. "Now." she said. They instantly scrambled out of the room. When I glared at her for being hard with the kids, she sighed and leaned back, wincing and sucking in a breath when she moved her wing. "Don't give me that look. It really is that bad." she said, returning my glare.

She ran a hand through her hair. It was a nervous habit for her. "Where do I begin?" she murmured. She paused for a full minute before finally starting. "My parents were geneticists. Except, they took it to the extreme. They worked with this company called Itex. They experimented on humans. Human children, actually. Sometimes, the child would be made in test tubes, or the scientists themselves would donate their own children for the cause. Other times, the children would be taken from hospitals, the parents told their children died, or adopted.

"My own parents donated me. They grafted avian DNA into me while I was still in the womb. It gave me wings, and my bones are lighter than a human's. My lungs are bigger, and I have air sacs. My heart beats faster, and I have to eat a lot. Up to 3000 calories a day. It was…painful. You think normal growing pains are bad? Try it with DNA that's not only not even yours, but isn't even from a mammal.

"And then there were the actual experiments." Max's eyes closed and she grimaced, probably from memories. "They were…bad. Torturous even. There were so many different kinds. Some of the scars I have are from my adoptive homes, but most are from those experiments. They tortured me for the first five years of my life.

"Then one day…well, my parents obviously weren't mentally stable. They were both way off their rockers. My father, Jeb just…snapped. He killed Margret, my mother. I usually stayed in a cage with rest of the experiments, but I was staying at their house that night. I'm not actually sure why. Jeb killed her right in front of me. The police found out and arrested him. During their investigation, they figured out about Itex. They whole place was brought down. Jeb was sentenced to death, and executed by electric chair last year.

"I hide my wings from them. Instead of taking me wherever they took the other experiments, they took me to the adoption agency. And then, it was just from one home to the other, until I came here." Max finished, spreading her arms out to emphasize the here part.

All the girls were crying, and we were all staring at her in horror. Max shifted uncomfortably under our gaze. She cleared her throat and looked away from us. It finally dawned on me how awkward this must be for her. Then, I did something that surprised all of us, even me. I stood up, walked around the table, and pulled Max into a hug.

She instantly stiffened up against me, and I wondered if I'd done something wrong. Then, she relaxed completely and wrapped her arms around me. From there, it went into this big group hug. I felt Max shaking against me, and I realized…

She was _laughing_.

After she just told us about her horrible past, she was laughing. I don't mean chuckling, but full out laughing. We all looked down at her and she finally stopped and smirked at me. "Geez. You've gone soft on me. I knew there was something beneath that emotionless brick wall of yours." she said.

I rolled my eyes. "Only you could be _laughing_ after what you just told us." I said, shaking my head.

She shrugged. "You have to understand, I grew up with that. I didn't know there was anything different, so I just accepted it. It's painful to remember, but…" she trailed off, scowling. "I don't know how to explain it." She rubbed the back of her neck. "I guess it's just that I've accepted my past. It's part of who I am. I can't change it because what's done is done. But, at the same time, I can't let it ruin the rest of my life. Life's too short for that, you know?"

We all looked at her in surprise. I thought over it and nodded. It did make since. Max smiled at me and my heart fluttered, my breath hitching. What the hell? Am I sick or something?

"So, you can actually fly?" Iggy asked, touching her right wing gently. Max stiffened and her wing twitched slightly. It was kind of funny, almost as if they had a mind of their own.

"Not for the next two and a half weeks." she groaned, putting her face in her hands. "I hate not being able to fly. My wings cramp up."

"Why?" Nudge asked.

Max dropped her hands and looked up at her. "Imagine that you couldn't move your arm for two and a half weeks. Would it not start cramping up on you?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

Max was tired. Apparently breaking your wing didn't do much for your sleep, so she didn't get a lot of it last night. She excused herself, going back up the stairs, but not before leaving us with a very specific warning. We couldn't tell a single soul about her wings, and, if we did, she'd beat the living crap out of us. I was _still_ trying to wrap my mind around the fact that Max has wings. But she has fifteen feet of them to prove it. And what her parents did? I want to rip them apart! No one should have to go through all that.

I looked up the stairs, where Max had gone. Why did my stomach flip and my heart speed up every time I thought about her? I remember when I found her last night. Vulnerable and in pain. It just…wasn't Max. Max is strong, confident, beautiful. It just wasn't like her to be weak. And I didn't like it. Not one bit.

**AN: Sorry if it's not very good. I knew how I wanted them to find out about Max's wings, but I wasn't very sure how I should finish. Oh well. At least they know now. Review, and tell me what you think! Also, any ideas of where I should go from here would be nice. But I'm not giving the rest of the flock wings.**


	12. Chapter 12

**AN: Sorry about the long update. I've been having writer's block on all of my stories, and, to make it worse, we've been traveling a lot this summer, and my sister is getting ready to move to college, so we're getting all that stuff she needs too. So, again, I'm really sorry about the long update. The songs are Wasted by Carrie Underwood and Only One by Mandy Moore.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own MR or any of the songs in this chapter, and here's the next chapter! Enjoy!**

(Fang's POV)

I walked into Max's room. It'd been a week since Max broke her wing. I was seriously risking my life here, because we all figured out the hard way that Max gets _very_ cranky when she can't fly. So walking in here is like asking to get my head bitten off. Unfortunately, lately, I can't seem to stay away from her.

Max was lying on her stomach. Her left wing was slightly closed, just like it had been the last week. Her right wing was spread out over the edge of the bed. I thought she was asleep, but she raised herself up onto her elbows and looked back at me.

When she saw it was me, she lowered herself back down onto the bed, not bothering to turn around. "What's up?" she asked. I knew she was trying to be nice, even though she was frustrated.

"Just thought you'd want some company." I replied. She folded in her right wing and patted the part of the bed beside her. I sat down next to her. She had her arms crossed, her head resting on them. She winced slightly and her wings twitched. "What's wrong?"

"My wings are cramping up." she replied in an annoyed tone. "And I'm just restless. After all, I've been doomed to sit in my room all day since you all insist on babying me." She gave me a pointed look.

I hesitantly reached out to touch her wing, but stopped halfway. Max was watching my every move warily. "Can I?" I asked, knowing she'd know what I meant. She hesitated, but then nodded slowly. I reached out and stroked her right wing. I didn't think she'd appreciate it if I touched her left. She flinched away from me and I looked up at her in confusion, worried I'd done something wrong.

She smiled apologetically at me. "Sorry. I'm not used to people touching my wings. The only ones that did were the whitecoats and that always turned out…bad." she said, her eyes going distant. To distract her, I started stroking her wing again. She stiffened in surprise, but then slowly relaxed. As I stroked the feathers, I looked closely at her wings. They were amazing. Breathtaking, actually.

"They're beautiful." I murmured. Max looked back at me in surprise and I felt my face flush. She slowly smiled at me. "Thanks." she said.

"I didn't think you'd hear me." I said truthfully.

She chuckled. "I have heightened senses. I'm also stronger and faster than a human." she said.

"Is it hard?" I asked her. At her confused look, I added, "Being a mutant."

She shrugged. "It is. But, remember, I've lived this way my whole life. I'm used to being different. I guess I've kinda accepted it."

I continued stroking her wings, lost in thought. Suddenly, I scratched the spot where her wing and shoulder met. I hadn't even meant to. Max looked surprised, but she finally relaxed completely. I smirked down at her. "Well, looks like I found your favorite spot."

Max scowled at me. "Shut up." she muttered.

I continued scratching the spot. "Hey, Max…" I trailed off.

She looked back at me. She must've seen something on my face, because she shifted position so that she was sitting crossed-legged next to me, her face confused. I hesitated. "Do you like it here?" I asked.

She blinked in surprise. "Yeah. Why?" she asked, eyeing me warily.

I shrugged. "It's just…I know it's been a month, but it just seemed like you opened up to us a little fast. I just wanted to make sure you weren't forcing yourself into anything." I said. "I just want to make sure you're really happy here."

Max sighed. "I am happy. It's just…I've never really had a family before. I'm still not really sure what to do about it. I mean, yeah, I had parents, but, like I told you, they weren't the best. They weren't family. They were just…the idiots who made me." she said, her eyes going distant again. "I'm just new to this whole family thing. I don't know how it works. But I'm willing to give it a shot."

"Have you ever wanted a family?" I asked.

Max gave me a bitter smile. "Of course. Our human natures often make us want what we know we can't have." she replied. "I never thought I was going to have a family, not even when I got older, because there was nobody I could really trust. And a family is supposed to be the people you love and trust the most."

"Blood related or not." I added, remembering that time in the forest, when she told me that her first foster parents said that you can't be part of a family if you aren't blood related.

Her smile was small, but real. "Yeah. Even if you're not blood related. A certain, black-obsessed friend once told me that."

"So, what do you want to do?" I asked.

She shrugged. "What can I do? I can't go out of the house because people would see my wings. And over the past week I've watched pretty much every movie that any of you own. Which, by the way, some of those are retarded."

I nodded in agreement. Like Nudge's High School Musical DVDs. Those are torture. "How about we go on a walk? It's not like you broke your leg." I suggested.

Max nodded eagerly. Geez, she must really want to get out of this house. I nodded and grabbed her hand, helping her off the bed. Then I dragged her outside. I was planning on just walking through town, but Max started dragging me off to the woods. "That might not be a good idea. What if we get lost?" I said.

She rolled her eyes and let go of my hands, shoving hers in her pockets. "I don't get lost. I can always find my way back to a place I've been before. And I always know which is east, west, etc. It comes with the mutant thing. How do you think I got us back to camp when _you_ got lost?" she replied, the last part having a heavy dose of sarcasm.

"You're never going to let me live that down, are you?" I asked. She just smirked and shook her head in reply. "So, do you know where we're going, or are we just wandering?"

"You'll see. I want to show you something." she replied, smiling at me. She really had opened up. I remember how much she hated us before. I'd never seen eyes so cold and full of hatred. But now her eyes were warm and calm. And when she was happy, they seemed to shine, like they did now.

We walked for a while in silence, just enjoying each other's company. Max's eyes kept roaming. Which I guess made sense. She probably hasn't walked through this forest before. I mean, why walk when you can fly, right? Finally, Max said, "It's just up here." We walked through the brush and my eyes widened. It was a small clearing with a lake and a small waterfall. It was absolutely beautiful. "Nice, isn't it?" she said quietly.

I looked over at her. Her eyes had gone kinda mad, which bugged me. "What's wrong?" I asked.

She shook her head and smiled at me. "Nothing. It's just that I flew here sometimes, which reminded me that I can't fly." she said scowling. "Flying is like breathing to me. So it bugs me when I can't fly."

"Ah. Sorry. But, it's only for a little while longer, right?" I asked.

She nodded. "Probably another week." she replied. She motioned with her head for me to follow her to the lake. She walked down to it and took her shoes off, rolling up the legs to her jeans. She sat on the edge of the shore and put her feet in the water. I followed her example. Max laid down, her hands behind her head. It was dark now, the stars shining brightly. Again, I copied her position.

Max pointed up to one of the constellations. "Look, there's the Little and Big Dipper." she said, her voice filled with amusement.

I nodded. "Do you know any others?" I asked.

She seemed surprised by the question, then nodded, grinning like a little kid. "I love the sky. So I taught myself the constellations." she replied. Makes sense. She is part bird.

"Show me?" I asked. She grinned and we spent probably the next hour with her pointing out different constellations and telling me about their origins. I nodded, listening closely to every word. She seemed so excited, and when she would grin at me, my heart would stop. Geez. I sound like a love-sick looney. Wait…am I a love-sick looney. I looked into Max's eyes, and knew the answer. Yeah. I was in love all right. I'm so screwed. She doesn't even think of me in the same way. There's no way someone so perfect could. I've known for a while that I've loved her. I've just been in very, _very_ deep denial.

"We should probably be getting back." Max murmured sadly.

"Yeah. It is getting kinda late." I replied.

We walked back to the house and stopped outside her door. Geez. Why did this have to be like some cliché chick flick? "So, I guess I'll see you tomorrow?" I said, the statement coming off as more of a question.

She laughed, a true, genuine laugh and I grinned. I couldn't help it. It made me happy to see her happy. Damn…I've got it bad. "Of course you will." she said, grinning. "Hell, when are you and Iggy _not_ over at our house?" The door opened and Iggy stepped out, proving her point. "See? You guys practically live here."

I nodded smirking. "I'm going on ahead back to the house." Iggy said, jogging off.

"So…" I said lamely, trying to come up with something to talk about.

"So…" Max repeated, mocking me. She smirked and rolled her eyes. "I'll see you tomorrow, Fang." she said.

I nodded and, without even thinking, hugged her. Me, the emotionless Fang, _hugged_ somebody. _Willingly._ Do you see how bad I have it now? She tensed underneath me, and I almost let her go, but then she relaxed and hugged me back. It was quick, and we immediately let go of each other afterwards. "I'll see you later." I said quickly, jogging off before I could embarrass myself anymore.

"Bye, Fang!" I heard her call after me. I turned to see her waving at me, smiling slightly. That girl really doesn't know what she does to me.

**AN: I was going to end it here, but I decided to keep going, since it took me so long to update.**

Iggy and I walked into the Martinez home the next day. Like Max said, we practically live here, so after knowing us for two years, Dr. M said we could stop ringing the doorbell. Iggy went over to Gazzy, and they immediately started planning something. I, being the head-over-heels-in-love guy that I am, went straight to Max's room. I was about to knock when I heard a guitar playing, and Max started singing.

_Standing at the back door,_

_She tried to make it fast._

_One tear hit the hardwood,_

_It fell like broken glass._

_She said 'Sometimes love slips away,_

_And you just can't get it back,_

_Let's face it.'_

_For one split second,_

_She almost turned around_

_But that would be like pouring raindrops_

_Back into a cloud._

_So she took another step,_

_And said 'I see the way out,_

_And I'm gonna take it.'_

_I don't wanna spend my life jaded, waiting,_

_To wake up one day and find._

_That I let all these years go by._

_Wasted._

At this point, the others had come upstairs. Seeing me at the door, they stopped, looking confused. I put a finger to my lips and motioned for them to listen, smiling slightly. After all, this wasn't some song Max wrote to vent out her pain and anger. This was a song that said she wasn't going to let what happened affect her any more, that she was tired of wasting her life being bitter about it, because she had something to live for. And I was happy about that.

_Another glass of whiskey,_

_But it still don't kill the pain._

_So he stumbles to the sink,_

_And pours it down the drain._

_He said 'It's time to be a man,_

_And stop living for yesterday,_

_Gotta face it.'_

'_Cause I don't wanna spend my life jaded, waiting,_

_To wake up one day and find._

_That I let all these years go by,_

_Wasted._

_Oh, I don't wanna keep on wishing, missing_

_The still of the morning,_

_The color of the night._

_I ain't spending no more time,_

_Wasted._

_She kept driving along, _

_Till the moon and the sun_

_Were floating side by side._

_He looked in the mirror,_

_And his eyes were clear_

_For the first time in a while._

_Hey yeah._

_Oh, I don't wanna spend my life jaded, waiting,_

_To wake up one day and find_

_That I let all these years go by,_

_Wasted._

_Oh, I don't wanna keep on wishing, missing,_

_The still of the morning,_

_The color of the night._

_I ain't spending no more time,_

_Wasted._

_Oh, I don't wanna spend my life jaded, waiting,_

_To wake up one day and find_

_That I let all these years go by,_

_Wasted._

_Yeah, yeah._

_Oh, I don't wanna keep on wishing, missing,_

_The still of the morning,_

_The color of the night._

_I ain't spending no more time,_

_Wasted._

She stopped playing and I opened the door. She jumped when she saw all of us, then rolled her eyes and sighed. "How long were you guys standing there?" she asked, her tone amused.

"I was here the whole time. They came after you sang the first chorus." I replied, smirking at her. "It was nice, by the way. And much cheerier than when we last heard you sing."

She rolled her eyes. "Well, I don't just write 'my life sucks' music, you know. I write all kinds of music."

"Really? We've only heard the 'my life sucks' music. Can you sing something else?" Iggy asked, the first part with a heavy amount of sarcasm.

Max shrugged. "I guess." she mumbled. She contemplated what she wanted to sing, then smiled slightly. "Come on." she said. She led us into the living room and sat at the piano. She started softly playing, then singing, her voice soft and smooth. Vulnerable, something I'd never heard before. And let me tell you, it was absolutely _amazing_. The best I'd ever heard.

_There's a song that's inside of my soul._

_It's the one that I've tired_

_To write over and over again._

_I'm awake in the infinite cold._

_But you sing to me over and over and over again._

_So I lay my head back down._

_And I lift my hands and pray_

_To be only yours,_

_I pray,_

_To be only yours._

_I know now_

_You're my only hope._

_Sing to me the song of the stars._

_Of your galaxy dancing and laughing and laughing again._

_When I feel like my dreams are so far,_

_Sing to me the plans_

_That you have for me over again._

_So I lay my head back down._

_And I lift my hands and pray_

_To be only yours,_

_I pray,_

_To be only yours._

_I know now_

_You're my only hope._

_I give you my destiny._

_I'm giving you all of me._

_I want your symphony,_

_Singing in all that I am._

_At the top of my lungs,_

_I'm giving it back._

_So I lay my head back down._

_And I lift my hands and pray_

_To be only yours,_

_I pray,_

_To be only yours,_

_I pray,_

_To be only yours_

_I know now_

_You're my only hope._

_Mmmm, mmmm, ooh_

Max stopped and looked at us. "So, what do you think?" she asked.

"That was…amazing." Ella said, shocked. We all gave some form of agreement, most of us to stunned to say anything, so we just nodded like idiots, our jaws wide open. Even _Nudge_ was speechless! _Nudge_, people! That's how good she was.

"Who was that song for?" I asked.

Max looked down at the keys. "Roger is way into the church and stuff. I guess I'm a little into it too. He asked me to sing for one of the festivals once, so I wrote this song for it." she said, her fingers running lightly over the keys. "But it can also be a love song too. It's about someone who's life is going all wrong, and they meet someone, or God, that helps them make it okay again." **(AN: I'm a Christian. If you don't like this part, just skip it.)**

"That's really cool." Nudge said. "And it sounds really pretty. Like, _really_ pretty. You could be famous."

Max grimaced. "I guess. But I don't want to." she replied.

"Why not? I mean, who doesn't want to be famous?" Gazzy asked.

Angel nodded. "If I had your voice, I would."

Max shrugged. "I wouldn't like all the attention. I mean, you wouldn't be able to go anywhere without someone asking for an autograph or a picture, and the paparazzi would be all over you. They would write all these lies about you. Plus you have all these contracts, and people would be controlling you. You wouldn't have any control of your own life. And all those big fans wouldn't really like you because of who you are, or what you've done, or where you've been. They wouldn't know anything about you. They'd just like you because your famous or hot. It would just annoy the hell out of me." she said, standing up. "Besides, I'd be majorly ticked if the whole world found out about the wings." she said, hooking a thumb over her back.

I nodded. "I know what you mean." We just pretty much hung out the rest of the day. It was pretty cool. Eventually, Iggy and I had to leave. We walked back home, and I grabbed his arm, dragging him up to my room.

"Iggy, I've got to tell you something." I said, pacing. He sat down at my desk chair.

"Okay…" he said, dragging out the word and raising an eyebrow at me.

"Iggy, I have a big, big problem." I continued.

"What is it?" he asked, looking concerned.

"I'm in love." I groaned, sitting down hard on my bed. Telling Iggy probably wasn't a smart idea, because it will probably subject me to teasing, but he was the only one I could tell. If I told Nudge, Ella, or Angel, they'd probably end up eventually spilling the beans to Max. Gazzy wouldn't really know what to do with the information.

"With who?" Iggy asked, sounding shocked. I mean, Emotionless Brick Wall Fang had just admitted to being in love. You can't blame the guy.

"Max." I replied. "I'm so screwed."

"Does she feel the same?" he asked hesitantly.

I shot him a look. "I have no idea! I haven't told her!"

He looked thoughtful. "Well, it's official. We've got to make her fall for you." he said. "But to do that, we need a plan."

"So…help me come up with a plan?" I asked weakly.

He rolled his eyes. "I'm good at mischievous plans. Not love plans. I think we should recruit the girls for this one."

I shook my head. "What if they spill? They aren't the best at keeping secrets."

"Well, they are girls. And girls know all about this romance stuff." Iggy said. "Besides, who knows? Maybe she does like you. I mean, she's never liked anyone before, so she'd be absolutely clueless. Maybe she likes you, but she just doesn't know what she's feeling. That would be even easier. We'd just have to get her to realize it." He grinned, seeming proud of his own logic.

"I hope you're right." I mumbled, not convinced.

He rolled his eyes. "You're such a pessimist. Of course I'm right. I'm always right."

I rolled my eyes and shoved him out of my room. "Shut up." I grumbled before shutting the door.

"We tell them tomorrow!" he called through the door. I heard his footsteps retreating and collapsed on my bed. "Ugh." I groaned. So, tomorrow I confess my love for Max to her sisters and we come up with a plan to make her fall for me, or to make her realize she's already fallen for me. But, again, I'm not that confident in that theory. This is going to be fun! Please not the _extremely_ heavy use of sarcasm in that sentence.

**AN: Sorry for the long update. So, here's the deal. I need you guys to review me up a bunch of plans for operation "Make Max Fall In Love With Fang". And I'm serious because I have absolutely no idea what to do. I'm not good with romance plans. And, just so you know, the longer it takes me to come up with something, the longer it will be till I update. Which could be a long, **_**long**_** time, since, again, I have no clue what I'm doing. So please review! I need HELP, people! Badly!**


	13. Chapter 13

**AN: I'm back. I'm sorry about my other stories. I promise I'm working on them, I've just been really busy. Hopefully, I can update most of them before the weekend's over. Please be patient with me! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own MR, or any songs used in this story!**

(Fang's POV)

Max was finally all healed. We were in their backyard. Max said that we could watch her take off if we wanted to. Obviously, we were curious, so we agreed. I mean, if you got to see your best friend take off with her wings, wouldn't you watch.

As for operation "Make Max Fall In Love With Fang", it's not going so well. I'm still trying to work up the courage to trust the girls. Which, of course, gives me major teasing from Max. But I love her, and I really don't want to screw this up. So, I'm biding my time. There's nothing wrong with that, right?

…I'm so screwed.

Max stretched out her wings, shaking them to work out the kinks. She sighed and smiled, glad to finally be able to move her left one. Then, she folded them and started running, faster than any human could go. She jumped up at least ten feet in the air, and her powerful wings snapped open. She beat down hard, her muscles a little stiff, but, damn, it was breathtaking. She took off with such power and grace…wow. I've got it bad. But it made me feel better when I heard that I wasn't the only one who's breath hitched.

"Holy crap." I heard Iggy mutter behind me. We were all looking at her in awe, our mouths pretty much hitting the floor. She turned, took one look at our faces, and laughed. She grinned as she hovered about fifty feet above us. "Like the view?" she called down, before she turned, and sped off. I mean, she was literally out of sight in seconds. We decided that the only thing we could do was wait for her to come back. So, we went inside, sat down, and waited.

And waited.

And waited.

And, you guessed it, waited.

Finally, three and a half hours later, we heard something in her room. We all ran out to find that she had landed on her balcony, and her wings spread in the cool night air. Angel ran and flung herself at Max, who easily caught her. "Max, that was amazing!" she said. "You have to take me sometime!"

Max smiled and said, "Sure. But right now, the only thing I'm taking is a shower. So out. Shoo. Go." she said, herding us out of her room. She shut the door in our faces before we could get a word in.

"Okay…" I said in the silence, drawing the word out.

"We're going to go in Angel's room!" Iggy said to Dr. M, smiling and herding everyone into said girl's room. Oh crap. He's going to tell them! Like, right now! He sat down on the bed and, frowning, said, "We've got a problem."

The girls frowned and we all sat around him, some on the bed, some on beanbags, and some on the floor. "What is it?" Ella asked.

"Fang's in love with Max, but we're pretty sure she's clueless. So, we have to get Max to fall in love with Fang." Iggy replied, putting his "serious" face on.

"Aw! That's so cute! I always thought that they would make a good couple!" Nudge said. "I know! Why don't you put a note in her locker. Like a secret admirer thing, and then she'll try to figure out who it is, and she'll figure out it's you and be all flattered!"

"But what would I write?" I asked. I wasn't too sure about the idea in the first place.

Ella rolled her eyes. "God you're clueless. Normally, you'd write poetry, but Max doesn't seem like the type that would like that. So just write something like, 'You're so beautiful, you make my heart race'. Or something lovey-dovey like that."

"You mean corny?" Iggy asked. He turned to me. "This is what you do. Write something like, 'If I could rearrange the alphabet, I'd put U and I together'. Pickup lines are the key. Girls think they're hilarious!"

"No, we think they're stupid, and then we laugh at your stupidity." Nudge said.

"Which makes the girl think the guy is funny! That's the whole point." Iggy said, rolling his eyes.

"Why don't you just take her to a movie or something?" Angel said.

"You mean, just ask her out. Just like that." I said, disbelief clear in my voice.

Angel shrugged. "I think she likes you." she replied.

"And do you know that?" Ella asked.

"Because he makes her laugh and smile. And she always seems happier when he's around. And I see the looks she gives him when she thinks no one is looking." Angel replied in an innocent voice. My heart jumped. Maybe she does like me too?

"I think that will be our plan D." Iggy said. "The secret admirer thing is plan A. So we need plans B and C." He looked around the room. "Anybody?"

"Um…maybe he could just send her subtle signs?" Ella suggested.

"Okay, we've got plan B." Iggy mumbled, not really thrilled how boring plan B was.

Nudge snapped her fingers, looking really excited. "I've got it! He could help her write a song! A love song! She'd probably think it was really sweet of him to help her with!" she said, jumping up and down, while sitting on the bed.

"Oh, and how am I supposed to do that? 'Oh, hey Max. I was just wondering if I could help you write a love song so that you'd realize my undying love for you.' Yeah, that would go over well." I replied, rolling my eyes.

Nudge sighed, exasperated. "Just tell her that all good singers have at least of few love songs."

Iggy grinned. "I like it. So we've got plans A-D. I figure if none of those work, Fang could always just kiss her. Or be lonely and unhappy for the rest of his life." he said. I reached up and grabbed his shirt, yanking him off the bed, where he fell face first onto the floor. "Ow! I was _kidding_! Dude, I think you broke my nose."

"Not funny." I grumbled. I looked at his face. It was just a little red. "You'll be fine. Baby." I added, rolling my eyes. "It's not like anyone will care if you ruin your face."

"All the ladies will." Iggy said. "And Maddie will too. She sleeps next to me every night."

Maddie was our pet dog, a sheep dog. "Yeah. That's the only girl you'll ever get to sleep with you." I replied, smirking. Then there were a bunch of shouts of "Oh, burn!" Iggy looked at me in absolute shock. Those kind of jokes were his forte, his favorite, actually. The sexist pig that he is. So now, I've just beaten him at his own game.

Max walked into the room, towel drying her hair. "I think I came in at the wrong time. I heard something about sleeping with someone from all the way down the end of the hall." she said. Oh crap! I forgot about her super hearing. Oh, geez, what if she heard us.

"Fang made the best joke!" Nudge said. "Iggy was talking about how Maddie, their dog, sleeps next to him every night, and, tell her what you said, Fang!" she said. She winked at me, so I'm guessing she wants me to say it as part of the plan. Maybe to show I have a sense of humor?

I repeated what I told them. Max stared at me. I was actually worried she'd think I was a sexist pig, and then she started laughing. I mean, tears coming out of her eyes laughing. She fell to the floor, rolling around. "Oh, God…ow…it hurts! It hurts!" she gasped through her laughter, making both us laugh, and herself laugh harder. Finally, when we got our breath back, she looked at Ig and grinned. "Dude, you so just got owned." she said, grinning.

Iggy glared at all of us. "I don't have to take this abuse you know." he grumbled.

Max shook her head and put a hand on his shoulder. "We rag because we care, Ig." she said with fake sincerity. Then she grinned. "After all, someone's got to knock you off your high horse. Oh, how much fun I will have telling Tess all about this." She then laughed manically, like those evil cartoon guys.

Iggy paled. Tess was the girl he really liked. And I mean, _really_ liked. As in, he drooled over her every time she walked by. "Max no. Please. No, no, no, no, no!" he begged.

Max smirked at him. "Just remember, everyone in this room holds the perfect black mail over you." she replied evilly.

"Max, I don't understand." Angel said. We all looked at her in surprise. I forgot she was here. Otherwise, I wouldn't have made that joke. All of us looked at each other nervously, except Max, who just pulled her into her lap and kissed her forehead, saying, "I'll tell you when you're older."

"What about me?" Gazzy asked. "Am I old enough?"

"Nope." Max said simply. They pouted, but didn't say anything. They both knew that Max's word was law. Max finally got up and sat on the beanbag next to me. That's good, right? "So, what have you guys been talking about in here?" she asked.

"Just about how cool you look when you're flying." I lied smoothly.

"Mmhmm." Max said, looking at me closely. She was giving me a _I know you're lying and I'm going to find out the truth._ look.

Again, I'm so screwed.

I walked up to Max at school the next day. She was holding a note in her hand, reading it. But instead of the flattered, curious expression I'd hoped she'd have, she just looked bored. "What's that?" I asked, going for the _I'm a clueless, innocent bystander who is so _not_ totally in love with you._ approach.

"A note." she said in a "duh" voice.

"From?" I asked, putting just enough curiosity into my voice.

"Wouldn't you like to know." she said sarcastically, carelessly putting it back into her locker and closing the door.

"Aren't you the least bit curious?" I asked.

"Nope." she replied, starting to walk to her car. It was a sweet red mustang that Dr. M had gotten her.

"Why not?" I frowned. Damnit! This wasn't how this was supposed to go.

She looked over her shoulder and grinned. "Because secret admirers are stalkers with stationary!" she called over her shoulder, her eyes shining in amusement.

The others met me in my room after school. We learned from the last time that it was too risky talking at Max's house. "So?" Nudge asked excitedly. "How did it go?"

"Plan A was a total bust." I replied, sighing and laying back on my bed.

"What did she actually say?" Iggy asked, looking at me closely.

"She said secret admirers are stalker with stationary." I grumbled. The others stared at me for a moment, then busted out laughing. Thanks guys. You're so supportive.

Well, on to plan B. Which would, hopefully, lead up to plan C.

**AN: Alright, review, and tell me what you think. I've got an idea of how this whole thing's going to turn out, and I think you guys will find it funny. Review! And, like I said before, I promise I'll update on my other stories soon.**


	14. Chapter 14

**AN: Hello, peoples! Enjoy the chapter! And review!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own MR.**

(Fang's POV)

"Max, can I ask you a question?" Angel asked innocently. We were all just hanging out in the living room. Max was lying on her stomach on the floor, underneath the couch. Angel was sitting on a recliner to her right.

Max looked up at her warily. "Depends on the question." she replied after a short pause.

"When's your birthday?" she asked.

Max blinked, surprised, then frowned. "I don't know." she murmured.

We all stared at her in shock. "What do you mean?" Ella asked.

"I mean, I don't know what day I was born." Max said in a "duh" tone of voice.

"You mean you've never had a birthday party before? But they're so fun! You have all of the cake and presents and then all of your friends are there, oh, and you get to–"

Iggy, who was sitting beside Nudge, covered her mouth with his hand. "No, Nudge, I've never had a birthday party. Even if my parents had bothered to tell me when it was, my foster families weren't exactly the "Oh, it's your birthday, how exciting!" type." she replied. Then she shrugged. "It was just kind of normal for me."

"Well, if you could have a birthday, what would you want?" Angel asked.

Max shrugged. "Why don't you choose?" she asked, smirking. "Surprise me." She got up and headed towards the kitchen.

Nudge, Ella, and Angel sprang up, dragging me, Iggy and Gazzy along with them. They shoved us into Nudge's room and shut the door. "This is perfect!" Nudge squealed excitedly.

"What? Why?" I asked.

Nudge rolled her eyes. "Do you not have a single romantic bone in your body? Think about it! This could be another chance for you! You should get her a really romantic gift for her birthday." she ranted, half angry at my non-romanticness, and half excited about the idea.

Iggy grinned. "Brilliant!" he said excitedly. "That would be perfect."

"One question. What would I get her?" I asked, frowning.

That shut everyone up. "Something music related?" Ella suggested. "She really loves music."

I nodded slowly, then shook my head. "I'll think about it."

"July seventeenth. That gives us about two weeks, since its July second now." Angel decided.

Gazzy grinned. "I bet she hasn't had a Fourth of July either! This'll be her first one!" he said excitedly. Then he looked at Iggy. "We have to make the fireworks awesome this year."

Iggy grinned back and nodded. "Definitely." he replied.

We all got up and found Max was sitting on the couch, eating chips and watching TV. I sat down beside her and saw she was watching Criminal Minds. I could've sworn I heard her mutter "amateur" when the guy got caught. I looked at her in shock, but she just gave me a innocent look.

"So, have you guys decided when my birthday is going to be?" she asked.

"Yep! July seventeenth." Angel replied happily.

Max choked on her coke and coughed. "That's kind of close, isn't it?" she wheezed, grimacing and clutching her throat.

Angel rolled her eyes. "Max, its two weeks away. That's plenty of time."

Max looked at her skeptically, then shrugged. "Whatever you say. You're the expert. Just one thing: no surprise birthday parties. I hate surprises. Plus, I'm so paranoid that I'd probably end up boxing someone out." she muttered the last part, but we all still heard it. Then she stood up. "I'm going up into my room. I've got this tune stuck in my head and I want to see if it turns into something."

I followed her up and sat next to her as she took out her guitar. It electric guitar. It was completely red and looked beat up. "You need a new guitar." I told her.

She nodded. "I'm thinking about getting a new one." she replied absent mindedly as she started strumming a tune. That's when we heard Nudge yell. Max was up and out the room before I could even blink.

(Max's POV)

I threw the door open and looked around, looking for any signs of danger. But all I saw was Nudge crying, staring at her computer in shock, pain, and disbelief. I scowled and walked over. "What's wrong?" I asked, kneeling next to her in her computer chair and putting a hand on her shoulder. I barely registered the others watching us from the doorway, giving Nudge worried looks. "Whose ass am I kicking?" I tried for humor, but I knew it wouldn't work.

"Tyler just broke up with me." she said, pointing to the screen. It was a facebook page. I looked at the newest comment that this Tyler jerk had posted. It proceeded to talk about his "horrible girlfriend" and how she was a "bitch and a slut" and how he was breaking up with her because he found the new "love of his life" that he'd been dating for three weeks. Behind Nudge's back. His profile picture was that of him and some slutty girl clinging to him.

"What the hell?" I muttered angrily. Then I sighed. Geez, I didn't know how to deal with this. When I broke up with my boyfriend, I didn't have any friends or siblings there to comfort me. How is this done? "You don't deserve him. He's an asshole." I tried, making my voice confident.

"But I loved him." she murmured.

I sighed and pulled a chair over to sit next to her. Alright. You can do this, Max. I took a deep breath and said, "You didn't love him."

Nudge looked at me in shock. "What?" she asked. I saw the others giving me angry, confused looks.

"You didn't love him." I repeated, looking down at her. "You just think you did. Nudge, you're a young girl. You find someone that you think is a great guy, and you think you're in love and that one day you'll get married and have kids and live happily ever after. But that's not how it works. It's very rare to find true love the first time. Some people have to 'fall in love' several times before they find the right person. It's even worse if he's your first boyfriend, because you don't know how you really feel, so you think you've fallen in love with him." She nodded, confirming this. "It doesn't always work out the first time. It didn't for me."

She looked up at me shocked. "You've had a boyfriend before?" she asked.

I rolled my eyes. "Just because I was an orphan doesn't mean I never dated."

"Sorry." she said sheepishly. "It's just that you've never shown any interest before."

I nodded. "His name was Dylan Young. And I thought I was head over heels in love with him." I said, shaking my head. "I was about your age. He had to talk to me for a year and a half before I opened up to him. Eventually, we started dating. We dated around six months. Then, I figured out he'd cheated on me. He'd slept with this other girl. The night after I'd refused too. I figured out the hard way that all he wanted in a relationship was sex, which is never a good thing. I broke it off with him, broke his nose, and never saw him again. I'd scared him so bad that he moved because I'd been so angry when I faced him. But then, after about two days of moping, I realized that I'd never loved Dylan. Yeah, he was kinda cute, and seemed charming, but he was really just a player trying to get in everyone's pants. And it took going through a little pain for me to see his true colors.

"And that's what this Tyler guy is doing now. By posting this, he's just showing that he's and immature jackass who is too much of a coward to break up with you to your face, and thinks he has to make himself better than you by calling you all sorts of crappy things. It also shows that he's insecure and needs everyone to think he's bad to the bone. And he has no taste, not to mention a brain, if he'd pick that slut over you. And I'm not just saying that because he cheated on you. She pretty much screams it." I finished, nodding to the computer screen and grimacing.

Nudge wiped her eyes. "Thanks Max. You should be a therapist. You'd be good at it." she said, giving me a weak smile.

I gave her a small smile back. "That's because I have way too much life experience." I replied. I noticed that the others had left us with some privacy sometime during my story.

"Hey, Max?" Nudge asked. "Do you ever wish your life was different? That you hadn't gone through all that stuff? You know, without the wings, with better parents, and no foster homes?"

I stared out the window, thinking about it. A different life, huh? I looked back at her and she seemed almost scared of my answer. My small smile returned. "No." I replied quietly. She looked surprised by my answer. I looked back out the window, a little embarrassed. I hated talking emotional, mushy crap. It was going to storm tonight. "I couldn't imagine life without my wings. Flying is the best. As for the rest of it, yeah, I've been through a lot of bad stuff. But I wouldn't change a thing. Not if it meant that I couldn't have you guys. Because, despite everything, you guys are my family, and you're the best family I could ask for." I finally met Nudge's eyes again, grinning. Then I scowled. "Man, I sound like a Hallmark card." I grumbled.

Nudge laughed and gave me a nearly-bone-crushing hug. "You're the best sister ever." she said, her grip tightening around my neck.

I smirked and hugged her back. "And don't you forget it." I replied. Then I grinned. "Stay here." I commanded and ran back to my room to get my guitar. I came back and sat down next to Nudge, playing the rhythm I was playing earlier. Then I started singing, the words just coming to me. That's how all my songs went.

_Right now,_

_He's probably slow dancing with a bleach blond tramp,_

_And she's probably getting frisky._

_Right now,_

_He's probably buying her some fruity little drink_

'_Cause she can't shoot whiskey._

_Right now,_

_He's probably up behind her with a pool stick,_

_Showing her how to shoot a combo_

_And he don't know._

_That I dug my key into the side_

_Of his pretty little souped _**(sp?)**_ up 4-wheel drive,_

_Carved my name into his leather seats._

_I took a Louisville slugger to both head lights,_

_Slashed a hole in all four tires._

_Maybe next time he'll think before he cheats._

_Right now,_

_She's probably up singing some_

_White-trash version of Shania karaoke._

_Right now,_

_She's probably saying "I'm drunk."_

_And he's a thinking that he's gonna get lucky._

_Right now,_

_He's probably dabbing on_

_Three dollars worth of that bathroom polo._

_Oh, and he don't know._

_Oh!_

_That I dug my key into the side_

_Of his pretty little souped up 4-wheel drive,_

_Carved my name into his leather seats._

_I took a Louisville slugger to both head lights,_

_Slashed a hole in all four tires._

_Maybe next time he'll think before he cheats._

_I might've saved a little trouble for the next girl._

'_Cause the next time that he cheats,_

_Oh, you know it won't be on me._

_No, not on me._

_That I dug my key into the side_

_Of his pretty little souped up 4-wheel drive,_

_Carved my name into his leather seats._

_I took a Louisville slugger to both head lights,_

_Slashed a hole in all four tires._

_Maybe next time he'll think before he cheats._

_Oh, maybe next time he'll think…_

_Before he cheats._

_Oh before he cheats._

_O-oh._

I ended and grinned at Nudge. "What'd you think?" I asked.

Nudge laughed. "I love it." she replied, grinning. "I really don't know how you do it."

I shrugged. "I'm just awesome like that." I replied. "Heck, if it wasn't for physics and law enforcement, I'd be unstoppable."

Nudge laughed again and I smiled, glad that I could put her in a better mood. Maybe I'm not so bad at this sister think after all. I really think I could get used to it.

**AN: Sorry if it's not that good, but it's late and I wanted to finish it tonight so I could get it up tomorrow. Tell me what you think! And to do that, you've got to review! So go ahead and click that blue button down there. It won't bite, I promise. What else do you think Fang should get for Max besides the guitar? **

**Love,**

**Wolflover777**


	15. Chapter 15

**AN: Sorry about the long update. I won't even was time on excuses. But here's the next chapter. Hope you enjoy! This one's going to have a lot of songs in it.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own MR, or any songs used in this chapter.**

(Fang's POV)

So, today is the Fourth of July, Independence Day, the Anniversary of the Birth of Our Country. So, as you can imagine, everyone is decked out in red, white, and blue. My family and the Martinez family always have this big party that all the kids like to come to. Personally, I think they just come because Iggy and Gazzy make the best fireworks around. It pays to have demolition experts as brother and friend. Max, Roger, and the two others that always play with them (who I learned are Stacey and Tom) offered to be the entertainment.

Max was lying down in front of me in their backyard. They were going to wait until later in the night to play, and Gazzy and Iggy would set off fireworks at 9:30, while Max sung the National Anthem. I was dressed in a red shirt that had the American flag on the front.

Max had on a red, white, and blue tie-die shirt and blue jeans. She had on a blue, ripped hat as well. A small stage was set up for them, and the flag was on a flag pole on the right side.

"So, are you excited?" I asked. "It is your first Fourth of July, right?"

She smirked. "The first where I actually got to see the fireworks, yes." she replied, look back at me so that I was upside-down to her.

I smirked. "Then you're in for a treat. No one makes better fireworks than Iggy and Gazzy."

"Yeah, we could totally make a living off of these babies." Iggy said, sitting down next to me.

Then I heard somebody yell "Fangy!" Ugh. I'd never mistake that voice. "What do you want, Lissa?" I asked, not bothering to hide my annoyance. Of course, she didn't notice, and sat down on my other side.

"Can I talk to you? Alone?" she asked, giving Max and Iggy pointed looks.

Max raised an eyebrow at her. "I'm comfortable, so I'm not moving. Whatever you can say to Fang, you can say in front of us." she said.

"I second that notion." Iggy said, getting comfortable.

Lissa rolled her eyes and turned to me. "So, I was wondering if you wanted to go out with me sometime." she said. "Maybe to the docks, or out to a fancy restaurant. What do you say to that?" She was going for sexy, but missed it entirely.

"No thanks." I said.

Lissa's face turned as red as her hair. "Why not?" she demanded. Then she turned on Max. "It's because of you, isn't it? You're stealing my Fangy away from me!"

This time, both of Max's eyebrows rose. "Your Fangy?" she asked, snickering. "Look, I'm not stealing anyone. Fang just doesn't like you that way."

"Fang loves me!" Lissa yelled, loud enough that everyone heard. It got quiet as all the nosy people looked over at us. I opened my mouth to say that I didn't love her, but Max beat me to it.

"Lissa, I hate to break it to you, but I don't think he does." Max replied.

Lissa shot to her feet. "And how would you know?" she shouted.

Max sighed and sat up, turning around to face her. "Because he's my best friend and he's always complaining about your stalkerish ways."

"You're just jealous because you can't have him." Lissa said. _Actually, she could if she wanted_, I thought. By Iggy's smirk, I could tell he was thinking along the same lines.

Max sighed. "I'm not going to sit here and argue with you. Why don't you go do us all a favor and go back to your corner? I'm sure there's some nice guys waiting there to pick you up."

"I'm not a prostitute!" Lissa screeched.

"Could've fooled me." Max replied before turning to me and Iggy. "So, Ig, what kind of fireworks are we talking about here?"

"Don't ignore me!" Lissa yelled.

Iggy grinned at Max, completely ignoring Lissa. "They're going to be awesome." he said. "Trust me, this is going to be one show you'll never forget."

Lissa's face was purple at this point. "Listen to me!"

Max smirked at him. "I hope not. Everyone has been talking about this freaking party for the last three weeks, especially yours and Gazzy's fireworks. You better not disappoint."

"Trust me, he won't." I said, jumping into the conversation.

Lissa again shrieked in frustration and stomped off. Max smirked as she watched her. "Hook, line, and sinker." she said, lying back on the ground. "Sometimes the best way to get under people's skin is to just not say anything at all."

"You're my hero." Iggy said, grinning.

"Hopefully that will end her stalking, at least for tonight." Max said. She looked up at me. "You've got to do something about her. She's way off her rocker."

I sighed. "What am I supposed to do? I've never gone on a date with her, barely talk to her, and I've always shot down the idea that I love her. What else can I do?"

Iggy shrugged, but Max seemed thoughtful. "I'd say there is two things you can do. Get a girlfriend is one. She might back off if she thinks she's lost you. Another would be that you can go on a date with her, and make her absolutely miserable. You know, make her think that she was way off about you and that you're not worth her time." she suggested. I liked the first option. If Max would be my girlfriend.

"I'll think about it." I said. Dr. M called, telling us the food was ready. We got in line and piled food onto our plates then sat back down. After we were done eating, it was time for Max to go up there and do her thing. Max grabbed and Roger grabbed an electric guitar, Stacey was drums, and Tom went to the bass.

Roger and Max were in the front. "How's everybody doing tonight?" he asked, grinning. "Everyone having fun?" There were shouts of "Yeah!"s and "Great!"s. "Cool. For those of you that don't know us, I'm Roger, that's Max, Stacey is on drums, and Tom's over there on bass, and we're going to play some music for you."

"Really, Roger? I don't think they would've been able to guess." Max said, rolling her eyes and gesturing to all the instruments. She was smiling though.

"Hush, you." Roger said, glaring at her. She just gave him an innocent smile and mimed zipping her lips and throwing the key away. "Most of the songs we'll be singing to night were written by Max here."

"But some were written my Roger." Max cut in.

Roger glared at her. "I thought I told you to hush." he said.

She shrugged and smirked. "Like you always say, I'm better at giving orders than following them."

"Yes." Roger said, sighing dramatically. "Our iron-fisted dictator. I'm telling you people, we are just a couple years away from Maxocracy."

"Anyways," Max said, rolling her eyes, "This first song we'll be singing is called 'Shut Up and Kiss Me'. Hope you enjoy." Max started out with a solo, then everyone else came in when she started singing.

_You're too loud,_

_I'm so hyper._

_On paper we're a disaster._

_And I'm driving you crazy._

_It's my little game._

_I push you_

_And you push back._

_Two opposites so alike that,_

_Every days a roller coaster,_

_But I'm a bump you'll never get over._

_This love (love)-hate (hate) relationship. _

Stacey did the back up. It sounded really cool, and, as always, Max sounded awesome. Max started jumping as she sang the solo, and the rest of the crowd joined her. Max sung with this sexy smirk on her face, and you could tell she was already enjoying herself.

_You say you (you) can't (can't) handle it._

_But there's no way to stop this now._

_So shut up and kiss me._

_Kick (kick), scream (scream) and call it quits,_

_But you're just (just) so (so) full of it._

'_Cause it's too late to close your mouth._

_Shut up and kiss me._

_So shut up!_

_So shut up!_

_I call you,_

_And you pick up._

_I tell you how much I'm in love._

_I'm laughing,_

_And you get mad_

_With my little game._

_Go ahead now._

_Admit it._

_You like your world with me in it._

_Like a record that's broken,_

_Yeah, I'm a bump you'll never get over._

_This love (love)-hate (hate) relationship. _

_You say you (you) can't (can't) handle it._

_But there's no way to stop this now._

_So shut up and kiss me._

_Kick (kick), scream (scream) and call it quits,_

_But you're just (just) so (so) full of it._

'_Cause it's too late to close your mouth._

_Shut up and kiss me._

_You'd miss my lips, my kiss, my laugh._

_The riffs on my guitar._

_The way we fight,_

_We make up fast._

_Oh yeah._

Max stopped here and did this awesome solo. Her fingers were moving so fast; it was amazing! I joined the others with their jumping, nodding my head to the beat. What? It's an awesome song. Besides, music just makes me show emotion. It's awesome.

_So shut up!_

She again stopped, holding out the note on her guitar with one hand, and pumping her fist in the air with every word. She only started playing again when she started singing the chorus again.

_Love!_

_Hate!_

_Love!_

_Hate!_

_Love!_

_Hate!_

'_Cause it's a love (love)-hate (hate) relationship. _

_You say you (you) can't (can't) handle it._

_But there's no way to stop this now._

_So shut up and kiss me._

_Kick (kick), scream (scream) and call it quits,_

_But you're just (just) so (so) full of it._

'_Cause it's too late to close your mouth._

_Shut up and kiss me._

_So shut up!_

_Shut up and kiss me._

The crowd exploded in cheers as they stopped. Max grinned and Roger clapped her on the back. "Nice job Max." he said. "Who wants to hear her sing another one?" he shouted into the mike. The whole crowd exploded in cheers. Even me! The others looked shocked when I did, but I didn't care. I could listen to Max all day. Roger laughed. "Looks like you're up for an encore." he told Max.

She smirked. "Looks like it. Alright, the next one I'll be singing is called 'Think Like A Man'." she said. They all started playing at first this time. Then Max started singing.

_Must be you if the phone don't ring._

_Here I am, obsessing._

_He loves me, yeah, he loves me not._

_I tell myself I should just learn to shut up._

_No, I need to be like you._

Again, the crowd started jumping while Max bobbed her head to the beat. People were dancing some good, some _really_ bad, but everyone was having fun. It was nice.

_Ignore my emotions, emotions are dumb._

_Surf through the channels 'till my senses are numb._

_Shorten my attention span,_

_I should think like a man._

_Stick my foot in mouth and just run away._

_Turn off my cell, I aint got nothing to say._

_Disappear and not give a damn,_

_I should think like a man._

_I should think like a man._

_Oblivious, it must be nice._

_Nothing spoils your appetite._

_You're checking out every blonde in sight._

_You're telling me that it's just all in my mind._

_Yeah, I want to be like you._

_Ignore my emotions, emotions are dumb._

_Surf through the channels 'till my senses are numb._

_Shorten my attention span,_

_I should think like a man._

_Stick my foot in mouth and just run away._

_Turn off my cell, I aint got nothing to say._

_Disappear and not give a damn,_

_I should think like a man._

_I should think like a man._

_I could save myself so much trouble._

_I could save myself this heartache._

_But it's the best advice I know I'll never ever take!_

Max stopped singing and did and call and answer with the rest of the band. **(AN: For those of you that don't know what a call and answer is, it's when someone or a group of people play one thing, and then they stop and another person/group of people play something else. So the first group is "calling" and the next is "answering". Therefore called a call and answer. Aren't I smart?)**

_Yeah, I got to, _

_I need to, _

_I want to be like you_

_Ignore my emotions, emotions are dumb._

_Surf through the channels 'till my senses are numb._

_Shorten my attention span,_

_I should think like a man._

_Stick my foot in mouth and just run away._

_Turn off my cell, I aint got nothing to say._

_Disappear and not give a damn,_

_I should think like a man._

_I should think like a man._

_I should think like a man._

They ended with Max doing this little solo thing. Again, everyone erupted into cheers. "I think it's time for Roger here to sing something." Max said, smirking at Roger. "You've got to have _something_ fun for us tucked away somewhere."

Roger grinned wickedly. "No problemo." he said, giving Max a mock-salute. "I'm going to sing a song that I wrote myself. It's a little number called 'Kryptonite'." He grinned at Max, whose face lit up.

"Nice! I love that one." she said. They all started playing this slow rhythm and then Roger started singing.

_I took a walk around the world to ease my trouble mind._

_I left my body laying somewhere in the sands of time._

_But I watched the world float to the dark side of the moon._

_I feel there's nothing I can do._

_Yeah._

_I watched the world float to the dark side of the moon._

_After all, I knew it had to be something to do with you._

_I really don't mind what happens now and then._

_As long as you'll be my friend at the end._

They got louder and started playing a stronger beat as they got into the chorus and I bobbed my head to the beat, and saw Max doing the same, a small smile playing across her lips.

_If I go crazy then will you still call me Superman._

_If I'm alive and well, will you be there holding my hand._

_I'll keep you by my side with my superhuman might._

_Kryptonite._

_You called me strong, you called me weak,_

_But still your secrets I will keep._

_You took for granted all the times I never let you down._

_You stumbled in and bumped your head._

_If not for me then you'd be dead._

_I picked you up and put you back on solid ground!_

_If I go crazy then will you still call me Superman._

_If I'm alive and well, will you be there holding my hand._

_I'll keep you by my side with my superhuman might._

_Kryptonite._

Max did a solo here and it was pretty cool. It sounded dark and mysterious, just like the song.

_If I go crazy then will you still call me Superman._

_If I'm alive and well, will you be there holding my hand._

_I'll keep you by my side with my superhuman might._

_Kryptonite._

_Yeah!_

_If I go crazy then will you still call me Superman._

_If I'm alive and well, will you be there holding my hand._

_I'll keep you by my side with my superhuman might._

_Kryptonite._

Another solo here. They all sang _whoa-oh-oh_ over and over again until the song ended. The crowd yet _again_ burst into applause.

"Nice job, Roger. You mind if I try something?" Max asked suddenly.

"Um…depends on what you want to try." he said.

"Don't worry. It'll be great." she said. She set her guitar down on the stand and jumped off, running over to me. She grabbed my wrist and dragged me back up to the stage with her. "For those of you who don't know this guy, this is Fang. And he's going to sing us a song of his choice." Max said into the microphone.

I stared at her in shock, along with Roger, Stacey and Tom. So they didn't know about this either. I pulled her away from the mike. _"What the hell are you doing?"_ I hissed. "I am _not_ going to sing. I _can't_ sing."

Max just smiled at me. "Yes you can." she said. "Trust me, I know you can. I've heard you before."

_"When?"_ I whisper-yelled, exasperated.

She rolled her eyes. "Jeez, I don't know, every time a song you like comes on the radio?" she asked sarcastically. Then she sobered up. "Come on. One song, that's all I'm asking for."

"Fine." I growled. "But you owe me. _Big time._"

She grinned. "Noted. What do you want to sing? It can be anything."

I sighed. "'Someday'?" I asked.

"By Nickelback?" she clarified. I nodded and she grinned. "Good choice." she said.

She walked over to the others, making sure they knew it. Thankfully, they did and Max pushed me up to the microphone she was using. "Fang here is going to sing Nickelback's 'Someday'. It's an awesome song, and I know you guys will love it." she said. "Just sing it like you normally would. Trust me." she said, quieter and away from the mike, reassuring me. She backed up and nodded, signaling for me to start. Max started playing when I started singing.

_How the hell did we wind up like this?_

_Why weren't we able_

_To see the signs that we missed,_

_And try to turn the tables?_ The others joined in at this point, but they were softer than me and Max.

_I wish you'd unclench your fists_

_And unpack your suitcase._

_Lately there's been too much of this._

_Don't think it's too late._

Then we gradually got louder and I sung with more feeling. As we got to the chorus, the others joined me.

_Nothing's wrong,_

_just as long _

_As you know that someday I will,_

_Someday, somehow,_

_I'm gonna make it alright, but not right now._

_I know you're wondering when._

_(You're the only one that knows that.) _Roger sang that part.

_Someday, somehow,_

_I'm gonna make it alright, but not right now._

_I know you're wondering when._

_Well I hoped that since we were here anyway,_

_We could end up saying things we've always needed to say,_

_So we could end up stringing._

_Now the story's played out like this._

_Just like a paperback novel._

_Let's rewrite an ending that fits,_

_Instead of a Hollywood horror._

_Nothing's wrong,_

_Just as long _

_As you know that someday I will,_

_Someday, somehow,_

_I'm gonna make it alright, but not right now._

_I know you're wondering when._

_(You're the only one that knows that.)_

_Someday, somehow,_

_I'm gonna make it alright, but not right now._

_I know you're wondering when._

_(You're the only one that knows that!)_ Max played a cool solo before we came back in.

_How the hell did we wind up like this?_

_Why weren't we able_

_To see the signs that we missed,_

_And try to turn the tables?_

_Now the story's played out like this_

_Just like a paperback novel._

_Let's rewrite and ending that fits,_

_Instead of a Hollywood horror._

_Nothing's wrong,_

_Just as long _

_As you know that someday I will,_

_Someday, somehow,_

_I'm gonna make it alright, but not right now._

_I know you're wondering when._

_(You're the only one that knows that.)_

_Someday, somehow,_

_I'm gonna make it alright, but not right now._

_I know you're wondering when._

_(You're the only one that knows that.)_

_I know you're wondering when._

_(You're the only one that knows that.)_

_I know you're wondering when._

When we ended, there was a pause. It was dead silent, no noise or anything. Lots of people were just staring. Then, I heard clapping, and turned to see that it was Max, smirking and clapping at me. It was an _I told you so_ smirk. The noise snapped the crowd out of their staring, and, suddenly, the crowd _roared_. I almost went to cover my ears.

Max came up and slung an arm over my shoulders. "Would you look at that!" she said. The mike carried her voice, but she was looking at me, grinning now. "You stunned them silent!" She squeezed my shoulders in a one-armed hug before putting her guitar on its stand.

"And now, it's the moment you've all been waiting for. Please direct your attention to the roof of the house, because it's time for the fireworks, as Max sings the Star-Spangled Banner! Happy Fourth everybody!" Roger shouted into the mike before handing it to Max.

Music started up and Max started singing, her voice strong, confident, and smooth. Her voice rang throughout the crowd and over the explosions of fireworks. I was half watching Max and half watching the fireworks. I saw her grin as they started to go off. Iggy and Gazzy had outdone themselves this year. There were normal fireworks of all sizes and red, white, and blue colors, some shaped like stars, some in the outline of an eagle. It was awesome. As Max sang the last line, dozens of them were shot off at one time.

Finally, it all ended, and the crowd slowly started to disperse.

"You rocked." Max said as she sat down next to me in one of the many lawn chairs after we helped clean up. "You should come down and sing at Sue's with us. We could even go on days we aren't scheduled to work."

I half-smiled. "That'd be cool. Thanks for making me do it. Although, I gotta say, when you first suggested it, I thought you'd lost your mind."

She chuckled. "Everyone did at that point. "But, I was right and you sounded awesome."

I nodded and we were quiet for a minute before I got an idea. "So, you owe me, right?" I asked.

Max looked at me warily. "Right…" she said slowly.

"Well, I want to write a song with you. A duet." I said, smirking at Max's stunned face.

"What? Why?" she asked.

I shrugged. "I think it'll be cool. Besides every good songwriter has at least one duet." I said.

"I can think of five who don't." she replied, raising an eyebrow.

"That may be true, but none of those five owed me." I replied.

She sighed. "Alright, alright." she said. "We'll do a duet." She leaned over and hugged me. "'Night, Fang."

"'Night." I said, hugging her back. And plan C is underway.

**AN: Hope you liked it! Review and tell me what you think. Also, what song do you think I should have them write?**

**The songs in this chapter were "Shut Up And Kiss Me", "Think Like A Man", both by Orianthi, Kryptonite by 3 doors down, and "Someday" by Nickelback. I suggest listening to all of them. They're really cool.**

**Go on. You know you want to click that button. It's just right down there!**


	16. Chapter 16

**Hello again. Sorry about the long update, but my schedule is kinda hectic. But I will try to update sooner. Promise. **

**Disclaimer: Last time I checked, I'm a girl, therefore not JP. I'm not old, therefore not JP. And I'm not rich, again, therefore not JP. Putting all of that together, I don't own MR. **

(Fang's POV)

We were at Sue's place again. This time, though, Max and I weren't working. We were just there to hang out and have some fun. Oh, and play the duet we wrote. And sing it. In front of _everyone_. As you can probably tell, I'm not a happy camper about this. But Max said that it was my idea, therefore I had to sing it with her. I didn't even want to sing the song period. I mean, it was a great song, but…I don't know. It just doesn't seem as exciting when I know everyone else is going to hear it.

But, it was soon our turn, and Max was dragging me onto the stage. It was just me and her up there, Max with an acoustic guitar. Max sat one stool, and I sat on another, both of us facing each other. Max had already explained stage presence. We had to face each other and sing it as if we were singing it to the person we love. Which I was.

"Why does it matter so much?" I'd asked, exasperated when Max said, for the _billionth_ time, that I was doing it wrong.

"Because people won't get the message if it looks fake. Songs aren't just a bunch of pretty words and music. Well…sometimes they are, but a lot of the time you write a song to get out a message to someone. And no one takes you seriously if they feel you don't believe in it. If you just get up there and sing it without passion, they know you don't care, and they don't like that." she replied.

Max situated herself and started strumming gently. She nodded to me when it was my time to start singing. My voice carried throughout the room, soft and loving.

(_Max_, **Fang**, _Both_)

**Do you hear me? I'm talking to you.**

**Across the water, across the deep blue ocean.**

**Under the open sky, oh my, baby I'm trying.**

_Boy I hear you in my dreams._

_I hear you whisper across the sea._

_I keep you with me, in my heart._

_You make it easier when life gets hard._

_I'm lucky I'm in love with my best friend._

_Lucky to have been where I have been._

_Lucky to be coming home again._

_Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh._

_They don't know how long it takes. _**(They don't know how long it takes)**

_Waiting for a love like this._

_Every time we say goodbye, _**(Every time we say goodbye)**

_I wish we had one more kiss._

_I'll wait for you, I promise you, I will._

_I'm lucky I'm in love with my best friend._

_Lucky to have been where I have been._

_Lucky to be coming home again._

_Lucky we're in love in every way._

_Lucky to have stayed where we have stayed._

_Lucky to be coming home someday._

As I started the next part, I looked out at the crowd through the corner of my eye. I saw Iggy, Nudge, Gazzy, Ella, and Angel in the audience. The girls' eyes were filled with tears as they watched us. I guess knowing that I really was in love with Max made it pretty darn romantic. Gazzy looked bored, and Iggy was shaking his head, probably thinking about how I lost all man points for _life_ by doing this. But when I looked at Max, she looked happy, and that made up for it.

**And so I'm sailing through the sea**

**To an island where we'll meet.**

**You'll hear the music fill the air.**

**I'll put a flower in your hair.**

_Though the breezes through the trees_

_Look so pretty, you're all I see._

_As the world keeps spinning round,_

_You hold me right here right now._

_I'm lucky I'm in love with my best friend._

_Lucky to have been where I have been._

_Lucky to be coming home again._

_I'm lucky we're in love in every way._

_Lucky to have stayed where we have stayed._

_Lucky to be coming home someday._

_Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh._

_Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh._

The crowd burst into applause as we finished and we stood up. Max bowed dramatically and grinned. I just stood there grinning like an idiot. Max looked at me and her grin widened as she pulled me backstage. "See! I told you it'd be cool." she said, smirking victoriously.

"Yeah. It was cool." I thought. And I decided then and there that I was going to ask her. I took a few quick seconds to build up the courage, then said, "Hey, Max, I was wondering…do you want to go out for dinner tomorrow?" I asked.

"Sure. What time do you want me to meet you guys?" she replied easily and started walking, obviously expecting me to follow her.

I grabbed her wrist instead, keeping her there. "No, I mean just you and me. Like, a date." I said. I kept my emotionless mask on, when really I wanted to run the other way.

Max studied me. "Just me and you? On a date?" It was more a thoughtful statement than a question, like she was going over it in her head. Then she gave me a breathtaking smile. Not a smirk or a grin, but an honest-to-God smile that made my knees weak. "Sure. Sounds like fun." she said.

I nodded. "Cool." I said casually. "I'll pick you up at around eight, okay?"

She nodded and we walked back out to the others. I tried to act casual, instead of, say, jumping up and down like a gay guy, but I couldn't help smiling at Max whenever we'd look at each other.

I was nervous as hell. I was wearing my usual black ensemble, hoping that Max wasn't expecting me to wear anything different. I rung the doorbell and Max answered two seconds later, closing the door quickly behind her, taking my arm, and dragging me down the driveway.

"Um…Max?" I asked uncertainly.

She slowed down and let go of my arm. "Sorry." she said. "Nudge, Ella, and Angel found out about the date. I've been trying to escape their wrath for over an hour now. They wanted me to wear a _mini-skirt_. And make-up." She shuddered.

I laughed and took her hand. "They must not know you very well if they thought they were going to get you into either one of those." I said, amused. "Is this okay?" I added, lifting up our hands slightly.

She smiled and walked closer to me. "Yeah." We walked in comfortable silence for a while. We'd decided to walk since the restaurant wasn't too far away, and it was a nice night. Then Max, being Max, had to ruin it. "I know, you know." she said.

I looked down at her, frowning. "Know what?" Jeez, did I already do something wrong?

She smirked at me. "About the operation 'Get-Max-to-Fall-for-Fang', or whatever it was called." she replied, her smirk turning into a grin as my mask fell and I stared at her, stunned.

"When…how…" I sputtered.

She laughed. "Relax." she said, nudging my shoulder. "I didn't know with the love note–which I'll never let you live down, by the way–but I did figure it out after you all ran upstairs to decide when my birthday was going to be." That's right, her birthday's next week. And, being a procrastinating guy, I still don't know what to get her.

"Why didn't you tell me?" I asked as I felt my face heat up.

She shrugged. "At first I didn't know what to think about it. Then…I figured out that I felt the same way. But, I wanted to wait until you had the guts to ask me like a real man. You missed a lot of opportunities to ask. Like after the whole Fourth of July party."

I sighed. "You're evil." I said. I probably would've been mad, except for she just admitted that she feels the same way I do.

She grinned back at me. "I know." she replied simply. We walked into this fancy Italian restaurant, and she raised an eyebrow at me.

I shrugged. "I thought it was special. You like Italian, right?" I asked.

She smirked and shook her head. "You've known me long enough to know that I like _everything_." she replied, referring to her insane appetite. Which I didn't mind one bit.

I just grinned back at her and led her inside. I saw a lot of the guys in the place look at Max. She was dressed simply, but every guy stared at her like she was wearing stripper clothes. I was about to get angry, when I noticed the funniest thing. Max didn't even realize how much commotion she was causing. She just kept talking casually, laughing.

We ordered our food and the waitress seemed disgusted with Max's order. "If you need _anything_, I'll be happy to serve you." she said, looking right at me and winking. I saw Max roll her eyes. I looked the waitress in the eyes and said, "We're good." I didn't even try to keep the annoyance out of my face and voice.

Max shook her head as the waitress walked away. "You know, I'm kind of creeped out now." she said, raising an eyebrow at the retreating waitress. "She had to be _at least_ ten years older than you. Maybe even fifteen. Although, I have to admit, your reaction was funny.

"Yeah, well, I'd bet you'd be disturbed if she'd flirted with you too." I replied.

Both of Max's eyebrows rose this time. "Maybe a little more than disturbed." she replied, smirking slightly at my comeback. I rolled my eyes and decided to ignore her. Which lasted about five seconds before she huffed out an annoyed sigh.

"What's up?" I asked.

"Oh, nothing." she replied, glaring at a table a few feet off to the side. It was filled with all guys. They grinned cockily at Max when they saw her looking, and one even flexed his muscles. "It's just that sometimes I wish I didn't have awesome hearing. Then it would be a lot easier to ignore their sexist comments about me."

I glared at the guys too and stood up. "Fang–" I kept walking ignoring Max's call. I stalked right up to their table and glared at them, crossing my arms. "Are you checking out my girlfriend?" I asked.

"Yep." one guys said, rolling his eyes.

"Well, knock it off." The guys all laughed. I grabbed one of their expensive-looking spaghettis and dumped it over the biggest guy's head. He looked like the leader. "Back off of her, assholes." I said as they glared daggers at me. I turned on my heal and walked back to the table, Max trying to control her laughter.

"You're going to get us kicked out." she said, grinning. "But, I have to admit, you're cute when you're all protective."

I grinned back. "Thanks." The rest of the date went by without a hitch. We stuffed ourselves full of Italian food, walked around the park, and got some ice cream before heading home.

The only awkward part was when we stood at her door. In the movies, this is where the guy kisses the girl goodnight. But it takes a whole lot more courage to do that than they make it out to be. "I had fun tonight." I said, smiling at her.

She smiled back. "Yeah. It was great. We'll have to do it again sometime."

I nodded, then just decided to go for it. I gently grabbed her chin and lifted her face up, kissing her hesitantly and gently, letting her pull away if she wanted to. She didn't react for a second, and I almost thought I'd done something wrong, before she finally started kissing me back. It was great, and I could've sworn I saw fireworks. We hesitantly pulled apart and she grinned up at me. "Goodnight." she said with one last peck on my lips before going inside.

"Goodnight." I called. Then I walked home feeling like the luckiest guy on earth.

**AN: Sorry for the long update and the sucky ending. It's just been seriously chaotic, but I will try to update sooner. Thanks for all your support! Please review and tell me how I did, because I'm not good with all the mushy-mushy stuff.**


	17. Please Read!

**Okay, I promised myself that I would never, ever do this, but I think this is plenty enough of a good reason to. I know people don't like AN's but please read this. The author of the story Silver Whistle was killed in a car accident, along with three other people. A friend of hers posted an AN. I just posted this to ask my readers to send in a review or message to her. Even if it's a simple "I'm sorry" or "I hope you're doing okay". I think it'll help.**

**Thanks a ton,**

**Wolflover777**


	18. AN

**Hey guys. I'm sorry that I haven't updated in a while, but I've been grounded for a long time. I can barely give you guys this. I'm sooooooo sorry and please forgive me. I swear I will update as soon as I can, but it's going to be hard. I'm really sorry that I can't update and be patient with me. There's only so much I can do, because I'm really stressed right now. **

**Your really apologetic author,**

**Wolflover777**


	19. Chapter 17 FINALLY!

**Sorry about the long update guys. But I've been applying to all this stuff, and grounded, and in Orlando for Christmas, and some idiot decided to threaten to shoot up our school (thought I must stress NOTHING HAPPENED! We're fine people! It just turned out to be bogus!), and then one of my marching band members died. It was hard on a lot of us, because we're like a big family and he was really young. He shot himself. So I'm sorry for the long update, but it's been hectic lately. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own MR.**

(Max's POV)

"Max! Max! Wake up! Wake up!" I heard several voices that I (unfortunately) recognized. I groaned and put my pillow over my head. "Come on, Max!" I groaned louder as I felt my bed bouncing up and down, a clear sign that someone was jumping on my bed.

I lifted my head and the first thing I saw was Angel, whose face was right in front of mine. I put my hand on her forehead and shoved her away from me. She fell back onto the bed and I could see the others behind her, including Mom.

Angel, undeterred from her fall backwards, sprang right back up and grinned. "Max, you have to get up! It's your birthday!" Angel said excitedly.

I blinked. "My what?" I asked.

"Your birthday, silly! Remember? We picked it out for you because you didn't know when yours was and its today, so now you have to get up so we can celebrate and have cake and ice cream, and then you can open your presents." Nudge ranted.

"Ah. I remember now." I murmured. I yawned and turned around, stretching. I got out of bed. "Can I at least get dressed first?" I asked, smiling slightly. They all nodded and scurried out, except for Fang.

"Happy birthday." he said quietly, giving me a peck on the lips before going downstairs. I smiled to myself and shook my head. And to think, just a few months ago I hated his guts…ah, good times…

I quickly threw on some ripped blue jeans and a black T-shirt that said, "Good girls just don't get caught." on it. I went downstairs, taking my merry little time and stopped blinking in amazement at the living room.

Shiny streamers hung from the ceiling, going in all different directions. There was a big banner that said "Happy Birthday, Max!" hanging on the wall above the couch. There were balloons everywhere too. The others smiled, obviously proud of themselves. "Wow." I murmured.

"We're going to make sure you have the best first birthday ever Max!" Angel said excitedly, running up and hugging my legs. I smiled down at her.

"And I'll enjoy every minute of it." I replied, ruffling her hair. She glared at me and started to fix it. I just smirked. "So, what's first? How does this birthday thing work?"

"Well, cake and ice cream and pre–"

"No." Angel said, interrupting Nudge. "We're going to the lake first because she didn't get to swim with us last time because of her wings. But now we know so it's okay."

"Oh yeah. That's right." Nudge said. Whoa. Short sentence…it really must be my birthday!

"I don't know…" I murmured, not liking the idea at all. If someone saw me, it would not end well.

"Why not?" Iggy asked.

"What if someone saw me?" I asked, frowning.

"They won't. We're going to a private area of the lake. Only a few people know about it." Mom said. "No one will see, I promise."

I nodded, but still didn't like it. I guess that's what happens when you're paranoid for so long. So, we drove off to the lake. Just like the others said, no one was there. We got in our swim suits. Nudge, Ella, and Angel tried to get me into a bikini. I agreed to the top, but chose board shorts for the bottoms. And I didn't budge. My suit was black with a red vine design on one leg of the shorts. The only thing was that it showed my scars. Not fun.

The others seemed shocked by how many I had. But they didn't say anything. The others jumped in as Fang and I sat on a few rocks by the edge of the lake. He traced one of the scars on my side absentmindedly. "You know, this is going to sound cliché, but I keep wondering how a guy like me ended up with a girl like you." he murmured.

I raised an eyebrow at him. "A scarred mutant? I have no idea how you ended up with that." I replied.

He sighed. "You might be scarred and a mutant, but you're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen." her replied, kissing my forehead.

"Careful. Keep being nice to me and I might fall for you." I teased.

He didn't even hesitate to reply. "You have the greatest smile, and you're eyes are gorgeous, not to mention your hair is so smooth–"

I laughed cutting him off. "Okay. Okay. I get it." I said, laughing.

"I wasn't done yet." he said, leaning his forehead against mine. We've both gone soft. *Sigh* "I love you." he said, breaking me out of my thoughts. I felt my eyes widen. I mean, we'd kinda indirectly said it to each other, but we never used the actual words.

Fang was starting to look worried. I kissed his frown. "I love you too." I said, grinning. He grinned back, our foreheads still resting against each other. When he smiled, his eyes lit up in the most amazing way, and, (I can't believe I'm about to say this) I got lost in his eyes. A light flashed and I looked over to see Iggy holding a camera. Gazzy was watching us, looking confused, while the girls, and Mom, were looking at us adoringly. I rolled my eyes and gave Fang a long-suffering look.

He just shook his head and lead me to the water. They followed us back in. We messed around, playing chicken, Marco Polo, and all kinds of other water games.

Eventually though, we had to go back to the house to eat dinner and cake and ice cream. As well as presents. We sat down and had this big dinner. There was chicken, mashed potatoes, corn, and green bean casserole. Then came the cake. It was big, and was green and blue. Someone had decorated it with a bunch of instruments. It was perfect and I grinned when I saw it.

After the cake came the presents. Iggy gave me his and Gazzy's first. I eyed is suspiciously, holding it at arm's length. "Is it going to explode?" I asked, eyeing them carefully.

Iggy rolled his eyes. "It won't explode." he said. When I didn't budge he added, "I promise." I sighed and carefully opened it, the blinked when I saw what it was. I took it out and held it up. "It's a Nintendo DS. You play games on it. It's actually really fun. Gazzy and I managed to scrape up the money to get you the DS and some games."

"Yeah. And I'll even teach you how to play it later!" Gazzy said.

I grinned. "Thanks guys." I replied, giving them each a one-armed hug.

Angel then handed me a bag. I took the paper out and reached inside. It was a shell necklace, handmade by Angel herself. I grinned at her. "I love it." I said, while she gave me a huge hug. "Happy birthday Max!" she yelled in my ear excitedly. Nudge got me a shirt, and I got an iPhone from Mom.

Finally, it came to be Fang's turn. I was honestly surprised that he'd gotten me anything. He'd asked me a hundred times what I wanted, and each time I told him I didn't know and assured him that he didn't have to give me a gift.

He handed me a small box. It was a jewelry box. I opened it and gasped. Now, I'd never really had any jewelry in my bird kid life. But this was beautiful. It was a silver ring with a small ruby in the middle of it. It was perfect. I grinned big at him and kissed him, hard. "I love it." I whispered. "Thank you."

He grinned back, relieved. "You're welcome. Happy birthday, Max." he replied. I put the ring on and then leaned into his side, my head resting on his shoulder. I closed my eyes, before I saw the red of a bright light behind my eyelids. "If you guys take one more picture of us, I'm gutting you." I grumbled.

"But it's your first birthday, Max! We have to take lots of pictures so that we can look back and remember how cool it was!" Nudge protested.

Fang started bobbing his shoulder lightly, causing my head to bounce up and down. I groaned and sat up, glaring at him. "We're not done yet. We have one more surprise for you." he said.

As I sat there thinking, _How can there possibly be more?_ I felt something go around my eyes, and then I couldn't see. I stiffened, memories of similar, yet much worse, experiences running through my mind. "Relax, Max. You can trust us. You're going to be okay. I promise." Fang murmured, so quiet I could barely hear him.

I slowly relaxed and sighed. "Is the blind fold really necessary?" I whined.

"Yep." Iggy replied. I felt someone grab my arm and haul me to my feet before leading me through the house. I heard the door open, and then felt the wind on my face. Iggy or Fang carefully helped me into the car. Fang sat beside me and grabbed my hand, rubbing soothing circles on my knuckles, and running over the ring every now and then. We drove for a while before I finally felt the car stop. They helped me out and then through another set of doors.

"Okay. Ready?" Mom asked, sounding really excited.

"Yes." I replied. I felt a couple tugs on the blind fold, then it fell off and all I heard was a roar of, "Surprise!" as everyone from Sue's jumped out, grinning big. I jumped and squealed embarrassingly, startled, before blinking and looking around in amazement. Sue's place was covered in streamers, balloons, and even silly string. Little plastic stars littered the table and floors, and _another_ big cake sat on a table, along with pizza, chips, and sodas.

Roger came up to me and wrapped me up in a bear hug. "Happy birthday, Max! Why didn't you ever tell us when your birthday was?" he asked.

"Roger…can't…breathe." I managed to gasp out.

"Oh…whoops." he chuckled letting me go.

"Yeah. Whoops." I grumbled. "I…uh…never really celebrated my birthday before. I didn't think it was very important."

"Of course your birthday is important!" he insisted.

"Oh, lay off of her, Roger." Sue said, waving her hand dismissively at him. She smiled and gave me a big hug as well. "Happy birthday sweetie."

"Thanks Sue. This place looks…amazing." I said, looking around again.

"Thank you, Max. The whole staff worked hard on it." she replied. A bunch of the other workers came up and greeted me. Eventually, we ate pizza, and then I had more cake, and even more presents. Sue got me an iTunes card (her and Mom apparently collaborated with their gifts) and a necklace. Roger got me a new guitar, a dark blue 12-string electric. That was probably my favorite. Other than Fang's.

We then had karaoke. People were singing and dancing and just having fun. Even I got up on the stage and sang some. Fang even came up with me a few times. Overall, it was a pretty awesome day.

"Now I see why you guys like birthdays so much." I told Fang when we were sitting in my room. Well, he was sitting, I was sprawled out on my bed. "They're a lot of fun, and you get free stuff." I was currently playing with the ring he gave me, spinning it around on my finger with my thumb.

He smiled. "I'm glad you had fun." he replied. "After the past seventeen years you've had, you deserve it."

"That's right. I'm seventeen now." I mused.

Fang looked down at my hand, watching me play with my ring. I paused and gave him a questioning look. He grabbed my wrist and lifted my hand to his lips, kissing it. I blushed. I don't think I'd ever get used to the electricity I felt with Fang. "Do you really like your gift?" he asked.

I smiled. "Of course. Who wouldn't? It's really beautiful, Fang." I replied, pulling him down for a kiss. Fang deepened the kiss, and then I felt his tongue flick against my bottom lip. I gasped and he took advantage, slipping his tongue inside. I groaned and pulled him closer, even though my lungs were screaming for air. My hands tangled in his hair. One of his caressed my cheek, while the other stopped on the small of my back, pulling me impossibly closer to him.

Then there was a knock on the door. "Stop sucking face Fang! We have to go home!"

Fang pulled back growling. We were both breathing hard, and he rested his forehead against mine. He gently kissed me again. "I'm going to kill him." he mumbled against my lips. "One of these days I'm going to kill him."

I pulled back, smiling. "No you won't. You love him, deep down inside." I replied. "Now go on. Get outta here." I said, playfully shoving him off the bed. He landed with a thunk and you could hear the _whoosh_ of his breath leaving his lungs.

"You suck." he said, sitting up and moving to do the same to me.

"Uh-uh. It's my birthday." I said quickly. "You can't push the birthday girl off her own bed on her birthday!"

He sighed. "I guess you're right." he replied, kissing my cheek. "I'll see you tomorrow Max." He left and I sighed. Birthdays aren't so bad after all…

**Again guys, sorry for the long update. I'll update my other stories as soon as I can. And I'm sorry if this chapter is a little shaky but I'm trying to get back into the swing of things. Please review!**


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